Not Over You
by Baby.Capri.1990
Summary: -SEQUEL TO LOST THEN FOUND-   Lightning's up to her neck with her new job and it pushes everybody away. Even the ones she loves most. What will happen when everything crumbles around her?  -Eventual Fang/Lightning- -AU-
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.  
><strong>Authorial Notice:<strong> Oh, what's this? A sequel? To Lost Then Found? [insert shocked face here]! Oh my! Enjoy it. ;) By the way, I have a job now. Finally. And I'm going to be cross trained (Deli and Bakery clerk) so I should be really busy. I'm going to try to stick to my normal weekly updates. But anyway, enjoy the prologue to the Lost Then Found sequel!

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212. I'm horrible at smut. So any smut that you read in this story is her's, not mine. Also, she's writing the Fang parts. I simply cannot write her.**

Not Over You  
>Prologue<p>

Didn't I give it all? Tried my best, gave you everything I had / Everything and no less / Didn't I do it right? / Did I let you down? / Maybe you got too used to by having me around / Still, how can you walk away from all my tears? – _"Take It All" by Adele_

XXXXXXXX

It had been six months since Lightning's birthday. It was an… uneventful six months. Lightning was finally working a 9-5 job, Monday through Friday. Serah and Snow had moved out. And last but not least, Fang and Lightning had major issues, leading to their inevitable break up.

The falling out had been difficult for both of them. Lightning had been working too much overtime. She had been trying to pay for their vacation. She was going to take Fang and herself to Nautilus. A much needed vacation from all the drama. Just the two of them. God, that was all she wanted. Two weeks of no Snow, Serah, Lebreau… or even Vanille.

However, all the overtime had led to angry break up sex. It was, in Lightning's eyes, 'goodbye' sex.

Serah had barely seen Lightning since she moved out with Snow. She and Snow tried to get a hold of Lightning but she was always at work. And when they tried to call her at work, she'd be busy. The two didn't know what else to do. No matter what they tried to do, Lightning avoided them. They didn't even know Fang and Lightning broke up until a month after it happened. And they found out from Vanille.

Vanille had been heartbroken. When Fang came home that night, she tried to make her smile but it didn't work. Normally all Vanille had to do was crack a simple, lame joke and a smile would appear on Fang's face.

Fang, herself, had been working extra. She got promoted to the assistant manager at the store she worked at and kept herself busy. She took all of the extra shifts she could, just so she could try to not think about Lightning. She kept herself busy with constant paperwork, customers, and coworkers. She went out to parties with her coworkers. She went to meetings. Anything to keep herself busy.

Fang had taken the break up the hardest. She had finally gotten close to Lightning, the way she wanted, but was only forced away. Lightning claimed it was because she wanted to pay for the trip and not have Fang pay for a cent of it. It was Lightning's way of showing how much she loved her. But a month without one date or one sleep over had taken its toll on their relationship.

One month after the breakup, Lightning did take the vacation. Only she took it at home. She took it at home with beer. She didn't go to Nautilus as she wanted to. Mainly because Fang and her had broken up. God, how she wanted to go with her. The months she had with Fang were amazing, and two weeks without Serah, Snow, or Vanille would have been even better. She already had things planned out.

But the plans didn't work out.

And it caused Lightning to shut everyone out.

Fang had been there through her worst. Through the wedding, and through the accident.

And it was all gone.

XXXXXXXX

"_You'd cancel the only date we've had in a month just to please those bastards?" Fang folded her arms over her chest, staring at her girlfriend. She was not amused._

_Lightning let out a heavy sigh before slipping out of her shoes and making her way past a very angry brunette to enter her kitchen to start making her dinner. "Those bastards help me keep this house Fang. What don't you understand about that?"_

"_The fact that ya got a pay increase, the fact that you're on a set schedule, the fact that ya only have to provide for you now." Fang remained right on Lightning's heels._

_The blonde slammed her hands on the island in her kitchen to glare at her girlfriend. "What the fuck do you want me to do? I show them that I'm available they'll keep me in mind next time there's a promotion open. Do you know Fang, that the money I earned today will help us actually have a vacation? A nice vacation with just the two of us. Why the fuck are we fighting all the time?"_

_Fang stood on the other side of the island, eyes never leaving Lightning's. "Because I feel like I don't mean anything to ya Light. Ya never make time for me. It's always work. I'm lucky I see ya once a week. Hell, ya haven't even let me fuck you in two months."_

_She was a bit taken aback by Fang's words. "Is that all this is to you? Because if it's all about sex to you, you can get the fuck out of my house right now." She grabbed a random piece of fruit from the bowl on the island before starting to walk away. She barely stepped foot into the living room before she found herself pressed against the wall. "Get off of me!"_

"_No. Not until ya hear me out."_

_Lightning lifted her leg to press her knee into Fang's mid-section, trying to put some more space between them. But the taller Pulsian was much stronger and held her ground. "I said get off of me!" Lightning practically snarled in the brunette's face._

_Fang grabbed both of Lightning's wrists and slammed her to the wall with a little more force then she intended. Her grip automatically loosened when the smaller woman let out a soft, barely there whimper. "I love you Light. Your job is tearing us apart."_

"_My job is paying for our two week vacation in Nautilus!" She fired right back._

"_And I already told you, ya didn't have to pay for the whole thing yourself! You need to learn that you're not the only person in this relationship." She pushed a little harder when Lightning started to fight her grasp again, this time she didn't loosen her grip. She was beyond the point of really caring if Lightning would have bruises forming on her wrists. She had to make sure the blonde heard her out. "I wish you'd get off this high horse you're on. Life doesn't revolve around just you."_

"_You say you want things equal, but how can you help with this trip with where you work?"_

_Fang was suddenly very silent. Yes, emotions were running high, but she was utterly shocked. "You have no right to say that to me."_

_Lightning's eyes remained locked with Fang's. She knew what she said was a bit of a low blow. But Fang had her so pissed. "And you have no right to say that I think I'm better than everyone else."_

"_Ya sure as hell act like it."_

_Lightning once again struggled against the stronger woman's grasp. The hands on her wrists were starting to hurt. Yet, oddly, the pain felt good. "Let me go Fang. I just want to sleep, I'm exhausted."_

"_There ya go again. Thinking about nobody but yourself."_

"_Fine!" She finally snapped. "You want me so much fucking take me."_

_She didn't need to be told twice. Her hands instantly began work on the buckles of Lightning's uniform before she could change her mind._

_As much as the soldier wanted to just stop Fang, kick her out, and go to bed, the power in which her girlfriend was showing was overwhelming. She turned her eyes away when she felt her top fall open. She was using all of her willpower not to give into the rough hands that worked her breasts, nor the teeth digging into the flesh of her neck._

_Fang pushed Lightning's top off her shoulders and barely watched it as it pooled near the blonde's feet. Her head dipped down to pull one of Lightning's nipples into her mouth. Her teeth closed around it, causing a loud, someone painful moan to escape Lightning's lips._

_Lightning's head slammed back against the wall. There was nothing caring, or loving about the way she was being handled. And she was ashamed at how much it was turning her on. She'd never let Fang know though. Her fingers dug into the wall at her sides, refusing to touch her girlfriend._

_Fang nearly ripped the skirt of Lightning's uniform when she forced her hands under it to remove it. She cursed under her breath at the number of buckles the uniform had. It was something she'd hated since day one. She used her body weight to press the blonde back against the wall, eliciting an involuntary loud moan that sent a chill down her spine. She realized at that moment in time, that she'd never been more turned on in her life. Part of her hated that it had come down to this._

_Lightning bit her lower lip as it trembled slightly. She couldn't believe that Fang was actually taking her. She cursed her entire body for the mixture of feelings. The anguish, the arousal, even the small amount of pain._

_Fang finally lifted her gaze to meet Lightning's. She let out a breath she'd been holding before wrapping her arms around the smaller woman's hips and lifted her off her feet. Not a word was spoken as she carried the soldier to the closest soft object. The sofa. She wanted her girlfriend; she didn't want to hurt her._

_The remaining bit of resolve that Lightning had failed. Her arms slid around Fang's neck and she smashed her lips to the Pulsian's._

"_Don't…" Fang pulled her lips away and not so carefully removed the arms from her neck._

"_Let me touch you." Lightning was starting to realized just how much she needed the woman above her._

_Fang pinned the blonde's arms against the cushions. "No."_

_Lightning wanted to continue protesting, but the sensations that traveled over her body were like nothing she'd ever felt before. The next thing she knew, two fingers were driven roughly into her center. _

_The feelings were rushed, lustful, yet full of love for the entire time they were together. For the next half hour it was nothing but saying goodbye. It all went by too fast. As it always had in the past. It felt like seconds. They were trapped in the moment but both knew what was destined to happen next. Lightning hurt all over, she didn't mind, but ran her hands through Fang's hair anyway. Fang didn't move. She felt wet tears on her chest. "Fang? I'm sorry, I…-"_

"_Don't…" Fang's voice choked. "I… I can't believe…"_

"_Fang?"_

_Fang stood up and put her clothes on, one by one. Piece by piece. Slowly._

"_I… I'm sorry, Light but… I can't keep doing this with you. I keep pulling you towards me but you keep pushing away…"_

"_Fang, don't say it please…"_

"_Goodbye, Light."_

XXXXXXXX

**So what did you guys think? Is it a good start? Please don't kill me. I have good intentions with this. And trust me, it won't take me a year to complete thie story this time around. :)  
><strong>**  
>A few questions before I end my ranting:<strong>

**What would you guys like to see in this story? It's going to have drama in it. Lots of it. But it will lead to good things - very good things.**

**Don't forget, if ya'll know me like ya'll did before, reviews make me update faster. They really do.**


	2. Alienation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.  
><strong>Authorial Notice: <strong>The response to the prologue was... amazing. I was seriously amazed and spoke with Haruka about posting this chapter. Because you know what, the prologue was kinda a tease. So you lovely people deserve this new chapter. Enjoy!**  
><strong>**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212**

Not Over You  
>Chapter One – Alienation<p>

And if I had the chance to renew / You know there isn't a thing I wouldn't do / I could get back on the right track / But only if you'd be convinced… / So until then… _"Not Over You" by Gavin Degraw_

XXXXXXXX

Lightning walked into her office. When she stepped in, the first thing she noticed was her voicemail light blinking continuously. She sighed and closed the door behind her. It was eight in the morning and she didn't have to be in for another hour. She didn't know why she continued to work constantly. She didn't get paid for it but she had to. It was the only way to keep her busy and away from home. She grew more and more irritable as the days went by. One day felt like a week to her.

Being an instructor came with a lot of work. There was always an email in her inbox with a new way of doing something. The only thing consistent about her job was inconsistency.

She sat down at her desk and stared at the blinking light on the desk phone. She pushed the blinking button.

"**NEW MESSAGE AT 10:53PM:**_'Hey, Light… Claire, I'm worried about you. We haven't talked for weeks. You don't answer your door when I know you're home and you won't answer your phone either… Please call me when you get this? I love you.' _**END MESSAGE.**"

Serah.

She hated hanging out with Serah. Where there's Serah, there's either Snow or Vanille. And she knew how mad Vanille was about the situation that happened between Fang and herself. All she wanted was to go back in time and fix it. But instead she hides behind a façade. She's fine. She's okay.

But it's a lie.

It was always a lie.

She wasn't okay.

She wasn't fine.

The things that mattered most in her life were disappearing one by one. First Fang. Losing Fang meant losing Vanille. Then Serah. As much as she hated to say it, she lost Snow. She didn't know why she was pushing people closest to her away. She lived a life of solitude. And she hated it. But she couldn't stop it…

Ugh. She really needed to punch something.

XXXXXXXX

Fang sat at her desk in the store. As busy as it was, she had too much paperwork to even bother with it. Her shift had just started and she already had three times the paperwork she had when she left the day before. Her boss had left her with the job of all the paperwork when she got the job. He told her she needed to get used to it because he was retiring in a few months. She'd be promoted to store manager.

In a way, she wished she could just go back to being a supervisor before her huge promotion. If it hadn't been for Lightning, maybe she would have…

'_Lightning_,' Fang shook her head. No matter what she did, she couldn't get her out of her fucking head.

Her promotion was because of Lightning. When they broke up, all Fang did was work. She pulled extra shifts and the boss noticed. The assistant store manager quit and she immediately got the job. She took it because it would keep her busy but…

"Fang?" She lifted her head and saw Serah standing there with a small smile on her face.

Fang glanced back down at her paperwork. "Serah, I'm sorry but I really don't have time to talk."

Serah frowned and looked at the carpet. "You sound just like Lightning…"

Fang put her pen down and rubbed her temples. Why was this happening to her? Was she really being like Lightning? She hadn't seen her since the break up. "What's going on, Serah?"

"I haven't talked to Lightning for a few weeks… I'm worried about her," Serah closed the office door and sat down in the chair across from Fang. "Have you talked to her? I had Snow go by the apartment but no one answered the door."

"Maybe she's busy with work…" Fang said bitterly. It's what caused their break up, after all.

"She is… but she was before too and she answered her phone."

"And that's my fault?" Fang snapped. "She did it to herself, Serah. It had nothing to do with me. I'm just the one who put an end to it."

Serah scoffed and stood up. "Yeah, and you meant the world to her. She changed so much when Snow and I came back from our honeymoon. Fang, you know I love you but if you're not going to make this right, I will."

"How the hell am I suppose to make it right? Her need for work tore us apart!" Fang yelled. She saw Serah take a step back. Fang took a deep breath and sighed. What was she doing? "Serah, I'm sorry… but it's over between the two of us. Maybe after some time her and I can be friends but there won't be anything else. I can't put my heart through that again."

All Serah did was nod. She stared at the calendar on the wall. She didn't know what to say next. She didn't want to start anything with Fang but her protection of her sister meant more to her than friendship. "Do you… still have a key to Light's apartment? Snow lost ours and I'm going to try to get Claire to talk to me."

Fang sighed and pulled out her keys.

It was the only thing left she had of Lightning. As simple and small as it was.

"I'll give it back when I'm done… I'll just go make a copy or something…"

"No…" Fang put her and up to stop Serah. "Just keep it. I don't need it anymore."

Serah nodded and walked out, leaving Fang to her paperwork.

Fang couldn't stop her head from hitting the desk and groaning in frustration.

One step at a time. It was all she could do to let go.

And the first step to that was giving away the only thing she had left of her former girlfriend. A simple, small key…

XXXXXXXX

If punching bags could feel, the pain it would be going through at the moment would be unbearable. It would be begging for mercy. It would be praying to any Gods it worshiped for this angry, blond haired instructor to stop.

"That thing's gonna fall off its hinges you know?" A soft voice spoke from behind her. Lightning turned around and saw a blond haired woman standing near her. "I'm Quistis Trepe, nice to meet you," She held out her hand. Lightning's eyes lowered to the women's hand and just stared at it. She was becoming slowly annoyed. Again. "So, what do you do around here?" Quistis pulled her hand away awkwardly.

Lightning turned away from her and continued hitting the bag, causing the chain to rattle. "Instructor."

Quistis tilted her head and sat down on the bench near Lightning. "That's a little odd. I was transferred over for that same job."

Mid-punch, Lightning stopped to turn to look at the women. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah… Today's my first day."

"But… that's not possible," Lightning scoffed. "I'm the instructor and I'm sure Amodar would have said something to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to continue beating something."

"Ah! There you are, Lightning! You weren't in your office," Amodar walked into the gym with a slight smile on his face. "You beating that poor thing again, Farron?" He chuckled and looked over at Quistis. "You know, that punching bag is the third one we've had to get this month. This woman sure knows how to break the nearly unbreakable."

"Sir? May I ask you a question?" Lightning asked as she took the tape off of her hands.

"Actually," Amodar started, "I came to find you to talk to you." He led the instructor to a bench near Quistis. "I'm sorry, Lightning, but you as an instructor isn't working. You failed your sensitivity training a few months back."

"How do you fail sensitivity training…?" Quistis whispered.

"She punched the trainer."

"Oh."

Amodar continued, "Quistis is here to fill in for you. You're being moved to detective."

Lightning's eyes grew wide. "What?" She couldn't believe it. Was everything in her life going in a downward spiral? "Sir, please don't do this to me!"

"I'm sorry, Lightning. But Quistis is an amazing instructor and she is taking the job. I'm sorry."

Lightning looked at the blond, who seemed genuinely apologetic. Her teeth gritted in place and couldn't control the balled up hand from making contact with its first victim: Quistis' face. "OW!"

"Lightning!"

"She's taking my job! It's the only thing I have left that I actually enjoy and you're just ripping it from me!"

Amodar held Lightning back. "Look, you're going to be moved to detective. But first, you're on suspension for assaulting a co worker and you're lucky that's all you're getting. Now get out of here and try to get your life back together. You're suspended for a week."

Lightning relaxed in Amodar's arms and pushed him away, grabbing her gym bag. She made her way to the gym doors and kicked them open. "Wow, she has a good right hook," Quistis chuckled as she rubbed her cheek.

"She's one of my best," Amodar mumbled. "And she's falling apart."

Meanwhile, the crowd Lightning was walking through parted like the Red Sea. Except for one little victim. Lightning grabbed him and tossed him into the wall. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!" She looked like she was going to murder him. Without a word, all the poor rookie did was nod, begging for his life. She let him go and stormed out of the station, nearly leaving a pile of bodies in her wake.

XXXXXXXX

Lightning stormed into her apartment and threw her gym bag down on the floor. Why was her life going this way? It's bad enough she has no one in her life, but he had to take away the one thing she actually enjoyed. She sat down on the couch and laid her head back. But something didn't seem right. Her apartment was unlocked.

She shot up and looked around, only to see her sister sitting near her on the love seat. "You're home early," Serah said in a sad voice.

"You're not supposed to be in here. You're supposed to be in school."

"I didn't go today. I had to see you. I haven't seen you for a few weeks."

"Yeah well I've been busy."

Serah scoffed and stood up. "You sound like Fang."

"Fang?"

"Yeah, I went to see her today and she said she was busy too…" Serah paused for a moment to glance at her sister. At the mention of Fang's name, Lightning tensed. "You know she got a promotion? She's the assistant manager now."

"That's nice," Lightning said as she stood up. She didn't want to talk about Fang. "Look, I'm having a bad day and I really don't want to take it out on you… So can you please leave?"

"No. I'm not. So, Fang dumped you. Get over it, Lightning."

"I don't want to get over it!" Lightning snapped.

Did she really just say that? Oh, God… This was going to be a long day. "You still love her," Serah said knowingly. Lightning just rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen. She needed coffee. Actually, she needed a beer… But Serah was there, right on her heels. "Don't walk away from me."

"You don't even live here anymore! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because you're my sister…" Serah cracked.

Lightning sighed. "Serah, I just want to be alone. I don't want to think about Fang. I don't want to think about you. I don't want to think about anything right now."

She jumped when she heard Serah's fist hit the counter. "That's your problem, Lightning! You haven't thought about anything or anyone but yourself! No wonder Fang dumped you. Call me when you're ready to talk. And here's your key," She threw the key towards the surprised ex-instructor. The key clinked on the floor.

With that, Serah left. The only thing she had left was her sister and she lost her. In the blink of an eye.

XXXXXXXX

**So what do you guys think? I've had this chapter written since yesterday. Also, remember to review. It makes me write better! Don't forget. It only takes 30 seconds to write one. :) I'll post the next chapter by Saturday. Thanks!**


	3. Time To Say Goodbye

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.  
><strong>Authorial Notice:<strong> So there's a flashback from Lost Then Found… as in I just copied/pasted it. Lol. I needed to put something in there but not rewrite it completely. Figured I'd put in some happier times for those of you who have not read the first one… Enjoy!  
><strong>Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212<strong>

Not Over You  
>Chapter Two – Time To Say Goodbye<p>

I still get lost in your eyes / And it seems that I can't live a day without you / Closing my eyes and you chase my thoughts away / To a place where I am blinded by the light / but it's not right _– "Goodbye To You" by Michelle Branch_

XXXXXXXX

Vanille walked into Lebreau's café, knowing full well why Serah wanted to meet her. Fang had called her two hours ago to tell her that she gave Serah the key to Lightning's apartment. She cringed every time she heard Lightning's name. It was a never ending reminder of how lost her best friend was from the entire breakup.

"Vanille! Over here!" She turned around and saw the younger Farron sitting in a small booth at the other end of the café. She sighed before making her way to the booth, sitting across from her.

"Hey…"

"We don't hang out much anymore," Serah said with a sad tone.

It was true. Since the break up, the two best friends didn't talk much. Their family got hurt and it affected them. "All we do is talk about them…" Vanille mumbled, clear enough so Serah could hear. "And I have a feeling that's why I'm here."

"Come on, Vanille! We need to figure out how to get them back together. They're broken without each other."

"You don't seem to get it. They haven't seen each other, let alone talked," Vanille argued. "They'll both get over it. It didn't work out, Serah."

"I'm not giving up on them. There's obviously still feelings there."

"Well if Lightning would let up on working so much…" Vanille contemplated. She then shook her head.

"Working's all she knows. Fang made her so happy Vanille. We need to get them back together!" Serah rested her hands on the table, her eyes never leaving her friend.

"No. We can't. We can't get in their business. If they want to fix it, it's their problem, not ours…"

"But they'll never fix it on their own…" Serah felt her heart breaking. The whole situation between the two ex lovers had put a strain on their friendship.

"Then so be it," Vanille said through gritted teeth, "I'm sure they'll be friends again someday…"

"They're both too hard headed to talk. They won't take the step to be friends again without us." She paused to think for a moment before speaking again. "Think about it for a minute," Serah whispered softly, "were they ever friends to begin with? There's always been something there…"

Vanille thought, fixating her eyes on the table. It was true. They hated each other… or rather, Lightning hated Fang. And then the explosion happened and the spark finally came for Lightning. It was the happiest day for everybody when the pair became an official couple. She sighed softly. "Why am I doing this again…?" Vanille asked, finally caving. She didn't want to lose her best friend.

"Because you love me?"

With a smile, "and don't you forget it either…"

XXXXXXXX

Vanille had thought about her conversation with Serah since she returned home. In a way, Serah had a point. Lightning never let anyone in.

Until Fang.

She frowned as she thought of how happy Fang used to be. When her and Lightning were together, Fang was the happiest person on the planet. She had grown accustomed to Lightning's outgoingness and the dark sense of humor when it came to Snow and her sister. When the relationship ended, it was like they had to start anew… Why did it have to suck so bad?

Vanille curled further into her blanket while watching television. She didn't pay much attention to it because she couldn't stop thinking about Serah and the conversation they had. It would be hard trying to get the two back together and in a way, Vanille was torn. She didn't know if she was going to be doing the right thing or not. She knew that if she didn't agree, she'd lose her best friend. If she did agree, she wouldn't. She just hoped she didn't lose Fang…

"Vanille? Why is it so dark in here?"

"I'm watching a movie…" Vanille said as Fang turned the lights on.

"You'll go blind if you keep the lights off. Why the frown?"

"Because it's a scary movie!" Vanille lied. She didn't need Fang knowing what she was thinking about.

Fang chuckled before flopping onto the sofa and groaning. "I've been up and down those damn stairs fifty times today… Today was a bad day. My feet are killing me."

Vanille laughed and sat up to get Fang something to drink. "And to think you were so in shape. You used to run up and down the beach for hours without rest." As she reached into the refrigerator for a bottle of water, she heard something she thought she'd never hear come out of Fang's mouth.

"Yea, me too. I haven't had that much exercise since Lightn-…" Fang stopped herself. Vanille walked out of the kitchen.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing," Fang sat up quickly, "I didn't say anything."

"Where are you going?"

"…Bed…" Fang started to walk off but felt her best friend's hand on her arm. She wanted to pull away but knew she couldn't continue to do that to Vanille.

"Stay out here. Tell me what happened at work…" Fang sighed and sat back down. She took the bottle of water and played with the top.

"You know that new guy we hired a few weeks back? The one we thought had a lot of potential?" Vanille nodded, "He walked out today and left the store… On his way out he tore it up. And I had to do clean up."

"Well that sucks…"

Fang scoffed, "tell me about it." She propped her feet up on the sofa beside Vanille, "rub my feet."

"Ew!" Vanille squealed. "No!"

'_Claire would…_' Fang shook her head and mentally beat herself. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Of course," Vanille hugged her friend, "Love you."

"Love ya, too, Squirt. Goodnight," Fang kissed Vanille's forehead and walked off and into her room.

Fang cursed herself as she started to take her clothes off. She needed comfort. She laid down in bed and just… laid there. Eyes blinking. Why weren't they closing yet? She looked over at her clock. It was only seven thirty at night but… she just needed silence. She need to relax…

She felt her hand move lower and gave into temptation. The last time she felt any pleasure, was with Lightning. She couldn't stop her thoughts from going back to one of their more pleasant times. She made no attempt to stop her thoughts.

Thoughts of Lightning.

She missed her.

She missed all of her. She missed her voice, her attitude, but most of all… her touch.

XXXXXXXX

Lightning was completely drunk by the time the Eight O'clock Nightly News came on. She barely paid attention to the news anchors on her television as she tipped back her umpteenth beer of the evening. After finishing it off, she uncharacteristically placed it on the coffee table with the rest of its empty counterparts.

Her head felt heavy. The alcohol overtook her senses quickly.

She had lost her best friend, her girlfriend, and now her sister. Sure she had Lebreau, but she hadn't seen her for a few weeks. She was the only one who literally nearly kicked the door in just to see Lightning. Hope and his father were miles from Bodhum. Sazh and Dajh were in Nautilus. The only thing she really had left was alcohol.

She knew she was ruining her life. But she didn't know what else to do. It didn't matter. Her life was already ruined without the ones she loved most.

She just continued to drink. And honestly? She didn't care anymore.

A knocking at the door interrupted her thoughts. She drunkenly stood up on wobbly legs and made her way to the door. She cursed when she ran into the table by the door. When she finally managed to open it, she saw Lebreau standing there with a bag in her hand. "Hey, what's-…" Lightning went to shut the door quickly but Lebreau pushed her foot in, as well as her whole body. The ex-instructor sighed in defeat and let her in. "Thank you." She took a sniff. "Jesus, Light. Did you spill a gallon of beer in here?" She then glared at Lightning. "Oh, wait… That's you."

"What do you want, Lebreau…?"

"Serah asked me to check up on you. So I brought you food. Chinese. It's your favorite, right?"

"Uh, yeah. But I'm not very hungry."

"That's bull shit and we both know it," Lebreau said as she sat down on the couch. She tossed Lightning a pair of chopsticks and her food. "Eat up."

"But I'm really not hungry."

She was, but she feared eating would only make her sick.

"What happened to you, Lightning?" Lebreau asked as she turned the channel to some horror movie.

Lightning sighed and sat down next to her, picking at her food. Ugh. She really didn't want to eat. "What do you mean?"

Lebreau scoffed, "don't play stupid with me. You've tuned your friends out, you lost your hot girlfriend, who I'm sure is amazing in bed, and you've lost your sex life. Before you started dating Fang, you were a bitch and an uptight virgin who didn't care about anyone but her sister. However, when you lost Fang due to your stupidity…" She paused when she saw Lightning glare at her, "what? You're a workaholic."

"I'm not a workaholic…" Lightning continued to pick at her food as she heard Lebreau smirk.

"Suu-ure you aren't… Then tell me how you lost Fang?"

Lightning opened and closed her mouth several times. She wanted to spit out the first thing that came to her mind, which was anything but the fact that she did work a lot. She couldn't think of any other reason why the woman she loved walked away from her without even looking back. "I…"

"Exactly," Lebreau said softly. "Look, Light. I know that the two of us didn't work out. And I know the reason why. You were still looking for the right person… I've seen you happy before. It was when you were with Fang. I've never seen you smile so much. You literally brightened the room. But now, all you do is darken it with your stench of alcohol. Not only that but you make me want t kick a puppy every time I see you frown. It's totally depressing."

"Hm…"

XXXXXXXX

_Not too long ago, on Fang and Lightning's official first date, their plans were ruined. The reservations at the restaurant were ruined. The only thing they could do to try to make up for a bad start, was go back to Fang's apartment. And that's when they put in a movie._

_A few minutes into the movie, Fang found herself making small circles on the woman's arm, sensing the discomfort. "Are you okay, sunshine?"_

_"Who, me? Why wouldn't I be?" She answered, her eyes glued to the TV. "I'm fine."_

_"If you say so," Fang knew exactly what was going to happen next. It would be another ten or twenty seconds before the intruder came through the door. The girl was backing into the closet, camera following her every move._

_Fang suddenly gripped Lightning's arm, screamed and shook her, causing the woman to jump out of her seat. Fang started to double over in laughter when Lightning realized it was Fang. She turned and hit Fang on the chest multiple times. "You asshole!"_

_Fang continued to laugh. "Aw, Sergeant Farron is scared of horrors! How cute." As Light was about to hit her again, she grabbed her wrists and held them above the elder Farron's head. "What got you spooked, sarge?"_

_"I'm not spooked!"_

_"Why'd you jump then?" She was still laughing._

_Struggling against Fang's grip, she answered, "if I ruptured your eardrums and shook you half to death, you'd jump too!"_

_"Just admit it. The thought of someone busting down the door with a chainsaw scares the shit outta ya."_

_Lightning fell silent as she looked at Fang. "Let me go."_

_Fang grinned. "You don't really want me to."_

_The woman glared and pulled at the grip. "Let. Me. Go."_

_"You could get out if you want to… grips not that bad," she pulled Light closer, their lips inches apart. "But you want me to protect you from the big scary chainsaw wielding man."_

_"Whatever," Lightning tried to not look at Fang. The thought of being alone with Fang, this close to her, made her stomach jump. There would be no interruptions. Just the two of them._

_"Why are you blushing…?" Fang asked, leaning closer._

_Lightning looked up at her, crashing their lips together, then pulling away only slightly. "You…"_

_And they made love. Over, and over, and over that night. It was the best night of Lightning's life._

**XXXXXXXX**

**Well, what did you guys think? Was it decent? I hope so. Well, my schedule for the next 4 or 5 days is kinda weird. I'm training in the Bakery today and opening in the Deli tomorrow. So basically I'm working in the Bakery from 2PM-7PM, going home, sleeping, waking up, then going BACK to work at 6AM. I close on Sunday though so I think I can get some writing done tomorrow night… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Expect a new update sometime by the end of next week.**

**By the way, thank you so much for the reviews. You don't know how happy they make me. :)**


	4. Everybody Hurts

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Been slightly obsessed with FFXIII and Assassins Creed: Brotherhood lately… Lol. Sorry! But here's an update. Don't kill me please!  
><strong>Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212<strong>

Not Over You

Chapter Three – Everybody Hurts

Damn, damn girl you do it well / And I thought you were innocent / Took this heart and put it through hell / But still you're magnificent / I'm a boomerang, doesn't matter how you throw me / I turn around and I'm back in the game / Even better than the old me… / But I'm not even close without you _– "Not Over You" by Gavin Degraw_

XXXXXXXX

She couldn't shake the thoughts from her mind. No matter how much she pushed, Lebreau pushed right back. Especially three nights ago when she was falling over drunk. The woman refused to leave when told. She even stayed the entire evening to 'nurse her back to health' because she'd vomited up all of her alcohol, as well as the Chinese food that she'd eaten.

Lebreau had showed up every day, three times a day for a few hours just to make sure Lightning was okay. That she wasn't dead. And honestly, Lightning didn't mind. She and Lebreau had dated in the past but it didn't work; however, the friendship had always remained.

Lebreau coming by constantly drove her insane. But she was thankful someone she knew put up with her; her and her attitude, anyway. She scoffed at the thought, allowing the conditioner in her hair to wash out before finally stepping out of the shower. She hated the bathroom. It brought back memories of Fang.

She shook her head before hearing a loud pound at the bathroom door. "Light! Get outta there! You've been in there too long! You're gonna get pruny. Come on! I brought you lunch!"

Lebreau chuckled as she heard Lightning yell at her to shut up. She sat the burgers down at the dining room table. Lightning walked out of the bathroom while towel drying her hair, a simple white robe wrapped around her body. "Don't you ever go away?"

"Nope. Especially when Snow asks. He's worried about you, you know?" Lebreau stated simply as she handed Lightning a soda. "And you're confined to soda. Serah told me to let you know that."

"Hm," Lightning put the soda down on the counter and continued what she was doing. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Really? Could have fooled me. Remember puking your guts out all over the bathroom floor a few days ago? You needed a babysitter then."

Lightning took a deep breath and threw the towel in the basket near her. She picked the drink up and walked into the living room. "Just leave me alone."

"Sorry, but I'm not Serah… or Fang." She looked at Lightning as she said it and immediately saw Lightning tense at the mention of her name. She smiled inwardly. "You can't push me away like you did them. You know how stubborn I am, Lightning." She handed Lightning a burger. "Serah misses you" She said softly. "You should go talk to her."

"Every time I talk to Serah, she tells me to talk to Fang."

"So? You need to talk to her too. She's broken without you." She sighed, "Look. I know things suck right now. But you drinking yourself into oblivion isn't going to help anything. In fact, it's making things worse. Serah's worried sick about you. She really is."

Lightning didn't speak. She didn't want to. If she did want to, she couldn't even think of the words. She felt her world crumbling underneath her, each and every particle falling apart beneath her. It tore her apart. And she didn't know what to do. "This little silent treatment thing you got going right now isn't going to work either, Light."

Lightning scoffed. "And why should I care?"

"Because they care about you. They're obviously putting in the effort. They try to talk to you but you just shut'em out."

"The only one who tries is Serah. Vanille and Fang could care less."

It was true. Serah and Snow were the only two who actually tried… Well, Snow because he was forced to by Serah. So technically Serah. And if Vanille saw Lightning, the poor woman would probably be lying dead in the street or something. Vanille was _angry_ when she found out about what happened. And when that woman is angry, she's extremely scary.

"Yeah well… Whatever… It doesn't matter anymore. Can you please leave now?" She asked in a soft voice.

"Whatever, Lightning." Lebreau stood up and ripped the burger from Lightning's hand. "Get your own food!" Lightning sat there, amazed at what had happened. She was torn between laughing or getting angry. The look on her friends face was priceless. Lebreau wouldn't be angry for long. And she wasn't.

She realized what she did and sighed, rolling her head back. "You're such a bitch."

And she had laughed for the first time in a long time.

The bar was somewhat trashy. The smell of cigarettes and beer flooded her nose as she looked for a place to sit. Internally, she was thankful she decided to go to a bar where she knew she wouldn't know anyone. Nobody but drug addicts and hookers went there. She finally made her way to a booth.

She would have a few beers, then go home. It was nothing different than her normal routine of stopping for a drink after work.

Lebreau had left the apartment and Lightning immediately felt the need for booze. She was stuck in the apartment for three days straight and she still had four days before she could work. So here she was. Sitting down in a bar she had seen while working but never went to. She knew there would be no chance of seeing anybody she knew. And she was extremely thankful. Going out to the bar gave her some chance of socializing. Something she couldn't get while she was stuck at home with her thoughts.

Her thoughts, yet another reason why she needed alcohol. Drowning her memories was all she knew. Drowning out Lebreau's words. She stopped long enough at the counter to get and pay for a beer. After a quick look around she made her way to the corner to take the booth. Away from everybody, yet in the perfect place to watch everybody.

Why did Lebreau care so much about her? Why couldn't she just be like Serah and accept the fact that Lightning just wanted to be alone? She liked the fact that someone cared, but hated the fact that she cared so much. After taking a few long swigs from the bottle she already felt her head starting to spin. It never took her much to get drunk, and she was thankful for that.

"Let me buy you a drink hot stuff."

Lightning's eyebrow shot up to her hairline. She turned her attention to the man that was now leaning against her table looking right at her. If she were to be honest, he was a decent looking guy. If she wasn't so caught up in her own thoughts she'd have enjoyed the company. Even someone to just talk to, but not now. She really didn't want to talk to anybody. She rather enjoyed her corner observation booth. "I think I'll pass."

"Come on, why not?"

She frowned up at him. "Does it really look like I want any company?"

"Well you could have fooled me. Sitting here all by yourself. Where's your boyfriend?"

Lightning scoffed softly. "Don't have one." Before he had a chance to interject she continued. "Nor do I want one."

"Oh… I get it, you're of the homo kind." He laughed. "Come on baby, let me show you what you're missing." He stepped closer, just as he was about to sit down she stood up and stared him in the eye.

"Look buddy, I wouldn't push me. You don't know anything about me."

"But I want to."

Lightning grumbled and pushed her way past him. She needed a new drink. And it had to be strong. Definitely stronger then the beer. Once she was back at the counter she sighed in relief when she noticed he'd given up. Thank god. She paid for it then grabbed her glass of whiskey and returned to her booth.

Things had already started going downhill. That was the one thing she'd hoped wouldn't happen. She didn't want to be hit on while she was out trying to relax. As she felt the burning liquid flow down her throat she started to think again. If there was one thing Lightning wanted most: she had hoped no one she knew would walk in. She took another sip and when she placed the glass down. She saw her… She was one of the last people Lightning wanted to see. Yet she couldn't stop herself from staring. The orange-red haired girl looked up from the counter where she got her drink and spotted Lightning looking at her. '_Isn't Vanille too young to be in here?_'

The woman smiled when she approached the gawking woman. "Hey," the young woman spoke as she sat across from Lightning. "Can I buy you a drink?"

She was shocked. She wasn't sure what to say other than to agree. "Uh…. Sure, why not?"

XXXXXXXX

Fang grumbled. Why Vanille wouldn't just let her buy a cake from the Bakery Department at work, she'd never know. She hated baking! The last time she baked was to help with Serah's cake… Memories flooded through her mind. After a deep breath, she threw the bags onto their kitchen island and started to unpack them.

After separating everything, she looked at the ingredients on the island. Why did the instructions always look like they were in a foreign language? She groaned and started to grab the things that looked like the pictures on the box. At least it came with that, right?

Okay, so… Pictures. Baking a cake was like a puzzle right? It's pure logic… Only you look at the pictures and burn your brain by staring too long. Okay, that was a bad idea. And an extremely bad analogy.

She was half tempted to call Serah and get her skinny pink haired ass over there to help. After all, it was nearly midnight and Vanille was out. Probably with Serah… so that would be a bad idea. The two of them had been spending too much time together… Were they dating? No! There's no way. Serah was married. '_Silly, Fang…_'

She sighed and looked at the instructions, the cake mix, and the bowl. What in the bloody hell was she supposed to do next? Vanille does all the cooking, not Fang.

After a few moments of mindlessly staring…

"I give up."

But then her thoughts went to Vanille. She had nearly cried – well, pouted – to get Fang to bake her a cake. She was thankful that she had the next day off. It was already late and she had to have the cake done by tomorrow morning or Vanille would possibly kill her.

"That little brat's lucky I love her."

She was really need to call the bakery manager so she could get some damn help with this. It was then her phone rang. She didn't even look at the caller ID when she answered.

"Vanille, I really hope you're ready to clean up this mess I'm about to make." She heard a very familiar sob on the other end of the line. "Vanille?"

A sniffle. "Fang?" The woman started crying even harder. "I fucked up…"

XXXXXXXX

**So who do you guys/girls think it is?**


	5. Flashback I

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Authorial Notice:** Sooo… please don't kill me. I'm good at teasing… my readers. Teasing my readers with words… Wow okay I really need to sleep. I've been sick the past couple of days and a co-worker went on vacation for the next 7 days and I'm taking over her schedule until she comes back… then the week after that my manager is leaving for HER vacation so I'm stuck taking her schedule. So yeah… It means 40 hours though, at 8.60 an hour… Not too bad for 10 cents above minimum wage. :) Oh! And my sister from another mister's birthday is on the 5th of October. Send Prythia some love, yo! Tell her I sent you. ;)

Also, I recently bought Dragon Age II and… I FUCKING LOVE IT! I have obsession to the max right now. But… yeah on the bright side, I'm thinking about writing… soon. :D

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212. She wrote this for me. **

Not Over You  
>Chapter Four – Flashback 1<p>

Been so long that you'd forget the way I used to kiss your neck / (Remind me, remind me) / So on fire, so in love / back when we couldn't get enough / (Remind me, remind me)_– "Remind Me" by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood_

XXXXXXXX

_Baking. It was something she was never good at. But Serah insisted on having a homemade cake for her birthday the next day. Lightning stood at the island in her kitchen just staring down at the recipe on the back of the cake box. _

_The only thing running through her head was 'why me'. Why weren't the instructions in English? She could swear she'd never heard of half of these words before. She scratched her head and almost contemplated calling Fang to pick up a cake from the bakery… One that looks home made. She groaned in frustration until she felt a hand on her back. "Hey, babe. What's wrong?"_

_She looked up and saw Fang standing behind her with a smile on her face. "I can't bake."_

_Fang just laughed. "You should have called Vanille. She knows how to do it."_

_"Well… I wasn't thinking that far ahead."_

_"When do ya?" She chuckled. "Why are ya baking anyway?" Fang asked, grabbing the icing and stuck her finger in it for a quick taste._

_"Fang! Stop that!" She grabbed the icing bottle from her. "Serah wants a cake for her birthday."_

_"I could have picked one up," Fang's offer was a little too late._

_"That's what I said… but she insisted on me baking."_

_"She just wanted something from her big sis. It's sweet." Fang grabbed the small tub of icing out of Lightning's grasp and dipped her finger into it again._

_The blonde reached out to grab it away, but to no luck. "Would you stop that? I need that for the cake."_

_Fang chuckled and held her arm straight up to keep it just out of Lightning's reach. With her other hand, she grabbed the empty mixing bowl. "You mean this cake?"_

_"Help me then." Lightning plucked the bowl out of her girlfriend's hand._

_The brunette settled in beside Lightning and looked at the instructions. "How hard can it be?" She dipped her finger into the white icing again and slowly sucked it off. Then she did it again, this time reaching her hand over to offer it to Lightning._

_"I don't do sweets." She reached up to grab the hand in an attempt to push it away. A gasp escaped her lips when she felt the sticky substance grace across her cheek. "See what you did?"_

_Fang burst into laughter before licking her finger clean. "Not my fault."_

_Lightning fell eerily quiet when she looked away. "You're gonna pay for that."_

_"Oh?" Her voice lowered as she stepped closer. The front of her body pressed gently against her girlfriend's side. "And how are ya gonna-" Before she was able to finish her sentence she felt a handful of flour hit her face."What the hell?" As she reached up to wipe the flour out of her eyes she felt another handful hit her._

_"You deserved it." Lightning giggled as her hand stretched out to wipe some of the flour from her love's face. "White's a good color on you."_

_"Oh really?" The brunette pulled one of the eggs from the open carton on the counter._

_Lightning slowly backed away, her eyes wide and locked with the tiny egg in Fang's hand. "Don't you dare."_

_Fang's smile counteracted her words. "Don't know what you're talkin about sunshine." She tossed it some in her hand as she stalked her pray._

_"Fang, I'm serious. Knock it off." Her back came in contact with the countertop at the sink, her eyes still locked with the egg in Fang's hand._

_"I love you." She spoke as she lifted the egg and smashed it right on the center of Lightning's head. She burst into laughter at the yelp the blonde released._

_Lightning used her fingertips to wipe the yolk away from her eyes before opening them and giving her love a death glare. "What the hell?" She flung her fingers downward, not caring about the mess that was being created on the floor. All she knew was that Fang was going to pay for that. She slowly made her way around the brunette and reached into the carton to grab an egg of her own. Before Fang had a chance to react the egg was cracked right over top of her head._

_"Oh it's on."_

_Both started laughing uncontrollably when Fang reached into the bag of flour and started flinging handfuls in Lightning's direction. Lightning's hands flew up to shield herself, but to no avail. When Fang finally finished, she was gasping for air because of laughing so hard. "Come here Fang." Lightning held her arms out, asking for a hug as she approached her girlfriend._

_"Hell no, ya look like a snowman."_

_Lightning didn't listen though, she continued closer, grabbing another egg as she passed the counter and continued her trek. "All your fault sweetheart." She chucked the egg in Fang's direction, only to watch her duck. But the minute she did Lightning jumped on her and wrapped her arms tightly around the brunette._

_Fang finally gave in and wrapped her arms around Lightning's slightly shorter frame. Her head dipped down to capture the blonde's lips in a gentle, loving kiss. "You're lucky I love ya."_

_"I know I am." Lightning laughed softly, reaching up to gently wipe away the remnants of flour from Fang's smiling face. "I love you too."_

_Just as she slid her arms around the brunette's neck to pull her into a harder, deeper kiss, she was interrupted by a rather unhappy woman. "What the hell happened in here?"_

_They pulled apart quickly, neither able to get rid of the smiles on their faces. "All Fang's fault."_

_"Like hell it was! You're the one throwin flour!" She fired back._

_"Look at this mess!" Serah dared to enter the wrecked kitchen. It lightly resembled a winter wonderland. "What about my cake?"_

_"I'll go get ya one from the store." Fang offered but Serah pouted. "Look, ya wanted Light to make ya one, but ya see how well that worked out don't ya?"_

_Serah sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just… Fine." She threw her hands up in the air before walking off._

_Fang turned to her girlfriend with a mischievous smirk on her face. She silently reached out to grab Lightning's hand and led her toward the bathroom for a shower to get cleaned up._

XXXXXXXX

**Look for an update sometime by the end of next week! Don't forget to Read and Review, it makes me write faster!**


	6. Get It Right

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Authorial Notice:** So… yeah I just finished this chapter like… a half hour ago. Lol. Then I sent it over to Haruka for editing. Sorry, I would have had this posted yesterday but my schedules weird… And when I get off work all I wanna do is relax and normally that means games not writing. But I'll try to write a little of chapter six tonight before I go to bed because my next day off is Friday and Saturday next week. I'll try to post by next Saturday. :) By the way, I'm not really happy with how this chapter turned out. So let me know if you like it, okay?

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212**

Not Over You  
>Chapter Five – Get It Right<p>

What have I done? / I wish I could run / Away from this ship going under / Just trying to help / Hurt everyone else / Now I feel the weight of the world is on my shoulders _– "Get It Right" by the Glee Cast (sung by Lea Michelle)_

XXXXXXXX

Fang was surprised when she got the call. She had never heard the woman so upset in her years of knowing her. When she got the call, her heart sank when the woman spoke. She immediately thought the worst when she heard that first sob. It was late and wasn't expecting anyone to call, so you could just imagine the surprise.

She saw the woman she was looking for and parked the car near her. She stepped out and walked briskly to the woman who had called her. "What the hell happened to you?" was the first thing out of Fang's mouth.

"I fucked up, Fang…" The soft, scratched voice said. She was near the brink of tears and Fang had never seen that side of her before. It was something unexpected. She had to bring a smile to her face… somehow.

"Don't ya always fuck up?" Fang asked with a bitter chuckle.

The woman looked down at the pavement. "I'm… sorry…"

Fang sighed and sat down next to the woman. "Lightning, what happened? I barely understood you."

Lightning bit her lip and cursed at herself. Why did she call Fang? Oh, right… Lebreau didn't answer and unless she was lying on the floor with her intestines hanging out of her… she would never call Snow. And Serah would have killed her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you…"

Fang thought for a moment as Lightning walked away. Lightning had never been so apologetic. She apologized twice in one minute and that was very unexpected of Lightning. "Wait, Lightning." Fang stood up and ran towards Lightning, gripping her arm softly. "I'm sorry, what happened? Ya called me for a reason, now what was that reason?"

"I… want to go home. And I'm too drunk to walk."

Out of all of Lightning's options, two being either hailing a cab or catching the bus, she called Fang. Why?

"There's more to it… Ya reek of perfume… And I know you don't wear that." Then it hit Fang. Lightning was in the middle of the shady part of Bodhum, drunk off her ass… "You slept with someone."

Lightning broke into tears. She cursed herself for what she had done. She didn't even like the woman. She was just… there. Willing to fill the empty void Lightning had for the last three months.

"Come on… let's get ya home," She helped Lightning to the car and frowned when she heard Lightning sob more. Fang felt nothing but jealousy and anger when she realized what Lightning had done.

XXXXXXXX

_Lightning woke up with an arm draped around her stomach. She looked around and noticed she wasn't in her own home. It was a rundown apartment with miscellaneous bottles of alcohol and clothing scattered over the floor. 'Oh, God…_' _Lightning sat up and rubbed her head, trying to fend off the headache. She looked over at the woman beside her. How could she have done that? Why would she have done that?_

_A complete stranger. A beautiful, complete stranger. She filled the void and that was it. No more feelings. No more alcohol. The momentary forget was all Lightning needed. She needed to forget. But it was temporary. The memories of Fang came back. The memories of the two of them came back. The happiness, however, didn't._

_She was in a strangers apartment. Oh God… What was her name? Why couldn't she remember her name?_

_"Come back to bed," the woman said groggily as she reached for Lightning. She just pulled away. She couldn't touch that woman again._

_"I… have to go."_

_Lightning felt uncomfortable. The chill breeze flowing through the window gave her goose bumps. She put her clothes on, one by one as the woman continued to stare, admiring Lightning's ass. She knew she was staring but she refused to turn around and look at the girl. "I had a great time…" The stranger told her._

_"I wouldn't know. I don't remember it," Lightning said harshly. How could she get out of this? And who would she call? She was in no condition to walk home. And cabs and buses didn't run at that time of night. "I have to go," She said as she walked out of the one room apartment._

_Serah? No… Serah would kill her._

_Snow… She'd rather Serah kill her._

_Vanille would hang up on her…_

_Lebreau._

_"Lebreau…" She reached into her pocket and pulled her cell phone out. As she put the phone to her ear when she made the call, the only sound that greeted her besides cars driving by was the voicemail. Damn it._

_She leaned against a payphone. She only had one option left. Someone who wouldn't judge her. She had to call Fang._

XXXXXXXX

The two made their way into Lightning's apartment. The first thing Fang did was head to the bathroom and turn the lights on. "Go shower…"

Lightning just nodded as she walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. Fang leaned against the door and cursed. How had Lightning been so stupid? She'd heard from Serah about what Lightning was putting herself through but to actually see it…? Lightning had been innocent. She wasn't the type to just go out and sleep with a random stranger. Nor was Lightning that bad when it came to alcohol back before Fang and her got together. A few drinks here and there was one thing, but now she'd turned into a falling down drunk.

Fang moved and walked into the kitchen. Lightning would need Ginger Ale and some ibuprofen. She reached into the cabinet and pulled the medicine out.

She wasn't sure if she needed to call Serah or not.

In the car, Lightning had done nothing but look out the window. She was in deep thought and Fang knew that. The whole ride over to Lightning's apartment was awkward and silent. The two women hadn't seen each other and the _fact_ that Lightning had called surprised her. Fang had taken Lightning's name out of her phone and tried to forget her all together but…

She felt like Serah had to know. She had to know that Lightning was broken and needed her sister. The whole situation between the two groups of friends, Serah and Lightning, and Fang and Vanille had been difficult. It literally tore them in two.

Serah and Vanille's friendship had become rocky. Honestly, Fang was terrified of Serah. The Wrath of The Farron Sisters was well known in Bodhum… Okay, just between people they knew.

What were the consequences of calling Serah? Hm… Well we should start with the pros. First, she'd be thankful she brought Lightning to safety. Second… second… and yeah, she couldn't think of a second reason

The cons are, as stated above, the Wrath Of The Farron Sisters… '_Ya always gotta fear the small ones…_' She had never seen Serah angry but she could just imagine it. She felt that somehow Serah would turn all of this around and blame Fang for everything. The cons far outweighed the pros. Not calling Serah would be best.

As Fang walked into the living room, Lightning stepped out of the shower, toweling her hair. Her eyes were bloodshot and the slight sniffles caused Fang's heart to melt slightly. She walked over to Lightning and ushered her down onto the recliner. Lightning mumbled constant apologizes, such as I'm sorry's and I messed up's. "Here… drink this." Fang handed Lightning the pill and ginger ale. "The alcohol's out of your system… You should be okay."

Lightning nodded and just stared at the pill in her hand. She was tired and her whole body hurt. She was trying to figure out how she got in that position. One minute she was out drinking and the next think she knew she was lying in a random bed. What happened to her?

"Why did you come…?" Fang sat down near Lightning and looked at the broken woman.

"Because you called me," She said, crossing her legs as she leaned against the back of the couch. "What happened to you, Lightning?"

Scoffing, she whispered, "I've been asking myself the same question for the last hour…"

Fang looked at the clock and saw the time. It was nearly twelve. Vanille was going to kill her. She didn't even finish the damn cake. Not only that, but she made a mess… and Vanille would be the one to clean it up if she didn't go home soon. "Look, I have to go. You obviously still have my number so give me a call if you need me to drive you home from one of your drunken one night stands again."

As Fang stood up, Lightning grasped at her wrist. "Please… don't. I don't want to be alone right now… I don't trust myself."

She just nodded. The way she felt Lightning's hand trembling against her skin caused the cracks in her heart to finish breaking. She'd stay until Lightning fell asleep. Which, looking the way she did now she figured it wouldn't take long.

XXXXXXXX

Fang sat up slowly as she woke. She looked around and frowned when she realized where she was. On Lightning's couch. Great. She glanced to the side and saw Lightning lying on the recliner with a blanket draped over her. She was still asleep. She had to leave. She wasn't supposed to fall asleep. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Three missed calls and ten text messages. All from Vanille. Yeah, there would definitely be backlash.

She stood up and grabbed her purse, taking one last look at Lightning before walking out the door. She closed the door quietly behind her and turned around, only to see Serah staring at her. "Why are you coming out of my sister's home at nine in the morning?" Her voice was full of venom.

Fang grumbled. "Why don't ya ask her yourself?" She hurried off before Serah had a chance to say anything else.

XXXXXXXX

Serah was confused. Why was Fang leaving her sister's apartment at nine in the morning? She wanted to think the best but not after hearing the tone of Fang's voice when she spoke to her. Serah shook her head before entering the apartment. She definitely wasn't expecting to see Lightning fast asleep on the recliner in the living room. She sighed and walked into the kitchen. She might as well start to clean up…

"What happened to you, Claire?" Serah asked to no one as she picked up a few glasses, placing them in the dishwasher. The house was a mess. Not as bad as she expected, but a mess none the less. It definitely wasn't the pristine dust-free zone it once was. A few glasses and plates were scattered around the living room. Serah spotted some empty beer bottles on the stand near the television. It looked like it was a house who hosted a party the night before, not a place her neat freak sister owned.

She heard something in the living room and poked her head out, seeing Lightning sit up in the recliner. "It's about time you woke up…" Serah said as she walked into the living room. "How are you feeling?"

"Hung over…" Serah shook her head and started to make some coffee for the two of them. As the coffee brewed, Serah grabbed a clean glass got some water and a few pills. Lightning needed them. She walked into the living room and handed Lightning the pills and water.

"So… Why was Fang here?"

Lightning knew she had to tell Serah what happened the night prior. And she did. Lightning knew she'd gone too far and she needed the help, finally admitting it to her little sister. A few tears fell from the ex-instructor's eyes as Serah's hand rubbed her back gently.

"Serah, I – I can't do this anymore." She sobbed into her hands. The touch of Serah's hand on her back was doing nothing to calm her nerves. "I ne – need help."

"Of course sis." Serah was in tears as well by the time Lightning finished telling her everything. Her sister meant everything to her and she'd do anything to save her from her worst enemy. Herself. "I'm not leaving you alone for a while. You said you don't trust yourself. Honestly, I don't trust you either." Serah cupped her sisters cheeks and looked right into her eyes. "I'm gonna stay here for a little while with you. 'Til you get better okay?"

Lightning nodded and gratefully accepted the offer. Maybe she could change. It was the least she could do for Serah.

XXXXXX

**So, how was it? So Vanille's going to get a romance and I want your opinion. There's three choices.**

**There's one OC or there's Quistis.**

**The OC is going to be a male. I'm going to ask Haruka for ideas on what his personality is going to be like. Because let's just be honest for a second, people. A story full of lesbians and one straight couple (CANON) is kind of biased towards the lesbians, which I'm not. Love's love in my opinion. There might be that one perfect guy out there. So if you want Vanille to go for him, let me know.**

**The second option is Quistis. She's going to attend Vanille's party with Amodar because Quistis is obviously new to Bodhum and he thinks she needs some friends.**

**I'm going to bring them both into the story. But Vanille can only have one! So let me know!**

**Choose wisely!**


	7. As Long As You're There

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note:** Sorry about not having this chapter posted earlier. A coworker called in sick yesterday and I was called in to replace her. I had Friday and Saturday off and that's a rarity. The next chapter is a flashback. It's the last flashback (unless I come up with another bomb-digity flashback). So here you go and enjoy.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212**

Not Over You  
>Chapter Six – As Long As You're There<p>

Oh, I thought I could just walk away / That you might be a passing flame / I told myself I wouldn't care / If you weren't there… -_"The Truth Is" by Charice_

XXXXXXXX

"Where the heck were you? The kitchen is a mess! Do you know how long it took me to clean that up?" Vanille exclaimed as Fang walked through the door. "And! On top of that, I had to call the Bakery and ask if they could bake me a cake because I know you wouldn't do it. Do you know how embarrassing it is for ME to ask for MY OWN birthday cake?" She was pouted. Fang hated that. She couldn't give it. "So tell me. Where. Were. You."

She debated on whether or not she should tell Vanille what had transpired the night before with Lightning? God, she had never seen Lightning so broken inside. Did the break up hurt her that bad…? A pang of sadness hit Fang like a large semi. "Out," was all Fang was able to say. What was she supposed to say? '_Lightning called me up drunk after a one night stand and I slept with her? Not sexually but…_'

"You're not telling me something," Vanille pouted, crossing her arms across her chest. Fang sighed and walked into the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee. "Come on, where were you?" Vanille asked, on her heels.

"I'll tell you later. I just want to relax for a little bit." And think.

"Fine," Vanille pouted again.

"Hey, don't do that," Fang took a sip of her coffee before wrapping her arms around Vanille. "Happy birthday?" She asked in hopes of being forgiven.

The shorter girl sighed before giving in and returning Fang's hug. "Promise to tell me later."

"Yes, I promise," Fang placed a soft kiss on top of Vanille's head. "Love ya, Van."

Vanille knew she was going to have a good day, despite how horribly it started out.

XXXXXXXX

Lightning had fallen asleep again and Serah was, of course and as always, looking after her. She had called Snow earlier that day when Lightning was asleep and told him she was staying there to take care of Lightning and she wouldn't be home for a few days. She felt bad because she had to miss Vanille's birthday party. There would be other birthdays though, and she made sure to let Snow know that. And there would be…

Her thoughts shifted as she felt Lightning move her head on the couch. Her head was on a pillow that rested against Serah's tucked legs. The younger Farron's hand reached over and tucked a lock of pinkish blond hair behind her sister's hair. They had been in that position many times. Mostly the opposite way around, with Serah's head on Lightning's lap.

'_You'll be okay,'_ Serah thought, running her fingers through her sister's soft hair. What happened to her? The break up couldn't have hurt Lightning that much, could it? Her sister was a strong spirit. She never allowed herself to stoop so low before… Another factor might have been the demotion but…

"Serah…?" Lightning whispered groggily. "What time is it…?"

Serah looked at the clock on the wall. "Almost six. Are you hungry? I can cook up something really fast…"

"I'm fine…" Lightning sat up slowly. "How long was I asleep for…?"

"Since noon. You needed it… Are you sure you're not hungry?"

"Yeah… just want a drink," Serah frowned, but Lightning clarified, "water, Serah… I want a drink of water…"

Serah stood up and had her sister stay seated. "I'll get it. Just relax."

"You don't have to baby me."

"I'm just… repaying you. Relax and I'll get it."

Lightning sat back on the couch and pulled the blanket up to her chest as she watched her sister walk into the kitchen. It was unusually cold for the beginning of November, especially for Bodhum. "What exactly are you repaying me for?" She asked with a slight shiver.

"Don't be silly," Serah said as she walked back into the living room. "Remember all those times you held me when I cried and was broken?"

"Yeah but it was because of those bastards who hurt you."

"Yeah well… so you're broken now and I just want to be there for you like you were for me. So stop being stubborn and let me help," Serah handed Lightning the water and sat down next to her elder sister. "You told me a few years ago that it doesn't hurt to be helped. So let me."

Lightning chuckled lightly and nodded. "I guess I raised you well."

"You did." Serah rested her head on Lightning's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Remember about two years ago…" She started out hesitantly. "When we were like this… Only it was me who was crying me eyes out."

The older Farron laughed softly, she did remember the situation. "You thought Snow was cheating on you."

"You were ready to castrate him!" She lifted her head to look at her broken sister. "Okay yea… so you're always ready to castrate him." Lightning nodded, a small smirk on her face. "Sis, he didn't talk to me for three days!"

Lightning leaned forward to place her glass on the table and turned on the sofa to fully face Serah. "You were so panicked. I could hardly get you to stop crying long enough to breathe." She reached out to take her little sister's hand in hers. She really missed times like this with just her and Serah. Where they could be sisters and nothing else. No other obligation to please anybody but one another.

"I love you Claire."

Lightning's smile grew at her sister's words. "I love you too Serah."

XXXXXXXX

The guests for Vanille's birthday party were just starting to arrive. Friends from Vanille's school and co-workers from Fang's work place were just ordinary people compared to the real guests. Sazh and Dajh had managed to come up from Nautilus. Hope and Bartholomew had taken the trip down from Palumpolum. It was, in Vanille's opinion, like a family reunion. They were all gathered around the table while the other guests were chatting amongst themselves.

She was excited for her family to be there. It was rare they would be able to get together. The last time they all had a get-together was at Lightning's birthday.

Lebreau came by the table and handed everyone their drinks. "Here ya go, guys." Everyone thanked her as she walked off to continue tending to the food.

"Hey, ladies!" Snow walked in with three small boxes, nearly bumping into Lebreau. "Wanna give me a hand?" She smacked him across the back of the head and called him a moron before heading into the kitchen. "Ow!"

"You deserved it. Watch where you're going," she called.

Fang laughed. "Just set them by the others," She said as she took a sip of beer. Vanille looked behind him and saw the lack of wife.

"Hey, where's Serah?"

"Yeah… about that," Snow chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck after dropping the presents on the table. "Can I talk to Vanille for a sec?"

Vanille frowned a little before leading Snow down the hallway and into her own bedroom. "What's up, Snow?"

"Serah's with Lightning." He cringed back when he saw the younger girl's expression instantly change into slight anger. "Light's bad, Vanille." She crossed her arms across her chest. "She's hit an all time low and Serah needs to be there with her."

Vanille huffed. "Fine. Still sucks though…" She started to walk out of the bedroom but stopped to look at Snow. "If you don't mind me asking… what's wrong with her?"

"Serah didn't tell me the whole story. I just know that she's been drinking a lot, and Serah said something about a demotion at work." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were still alone. "And all this with Fang… it's obvious she misses her."

Vanille sighed and took a seat in the armchair in her room. "Serah and I had been talking about it. They both miss each other but Lightning needs to straighten up first. At the moment, they're like fire and gasoline. It's not going to work. They're no good to each other like this."

"Yeah, yeah… totally agree. That's why Serah's with Light. She's a bit of a… ticking time-bomb… even when she's not drinking." He chuckled at his own words and wrapped a large arm around her shoulders. "But hey, it's your birthday, you gotta enjoy it. So come on, let's get outta here and party."

Vanille giggled and followed him out of the bedroom but stopped in her tracks when she saw a blond haired man standing near the front door, behind Amodar and another blond girl. "Zell?"

Zell's head turned towards the birthday girl and smiled. "Hey, Vanille…"

She walked closer to him. "What are you doing here?" She stopped. "Not like I don't want you here. It's just that you're older and more popular than I am and you're super cute and oh boy I just need to shut up…" The blond near Zell smirked, along with Amodar. "Hi."

"Hey," Amodar chuckled, amused at the scene before him. "I'd like to introduce you to some people. This is Quistis Trepe. She's the new instructor at the station and this is her little brother, Zell," Amodar smiled. "And she's doing a wonderful job."

Fang's brow quirked. "Lightning just got demoted… _this_ is the one who took the job? Wow. Nice shiner you got there," she smirked at the bruise around the woman's left eye. Fang immediately assumed Lightning had done it. She wouldn't put it past the eldest Farron to do it.

"Wait, you know her?" Quistis asked in disbelief.

"Yup," Fang started to walk off, "I dated her."

XXXXXXXX

"So," Sazh smiled, "how long ya been in town, Quistis?"

"A little over 2 weeks now. I'll tell you, when they offered me that Instructor spot here in Bodhum, I was a little skeptical. I'm not used to big cities like this one. But, you know what, after getting settled in I'm glad I took it," She answered.

Lebreau had watched the group from her spot in the kitchen. So far, she didn't like Quistis. The way she held herself gave Lebreau the impression she was better than everyone else. She was 'gifted' with going to an expensive school. She had everything handed to her. There was something else but she couldn't put her finger on it. However, Zell seemed like a real gentleman. He had gotten Vanille and himself drinks an even pulled her chair out for her to sit in. It was a rarity to find a real man. Lebreau knew Fang wouldn't like him just because of the fact. And it made her laugh.

Zell and Vanille had been talking non-stop since sitting down at the large table. The other guests had left not too long ago. Fang was less concerned about Quistis but couldn't help but speak. "Why did ya take the job then?" She asked.

"Better pay and a chance to better myself by getting out of my home town."

Fang felt anger boil within her. "You're the final straw that broke her. Ya know that? You showing up on your high horse, not giving a rat's ass and taking the one thing that she had left drove her over the edge."

That caught Vanille's attention. "Fang, calm down."

"No. I'm not going to calm down." She stood up and started to approach the older blond. Before she got too close though, Sazh grabbed her to keep her at bay and Lebreau was right behind him, holding her back. Sazh alone wouldn't be able to hold her back. He needed backup. Everyone knew this all too well.

"Oh, Etro… this is embarrassing…" Vanille apologized to Zell.

"Wow, now I know why you two dated. You both have short fuses. You're perfect for each other." Quistis stood and looked the taller woman in the eye. She wasn't about to back down from a possible confrontation. "Well, thank you for the wonderful party but I think it's time for Zell and myself to leave for the night. Goodnight."

Zell threw Vanille an apologetic smile before starting to follow his sister. "I'll see you at school?"

"Yeah… you will," Vanille frowned.

"Don't worry. Stuff happens, you know? I'll be back." He waved at her before pulling the front door closed behind him.

Fang squirmed her way out of Lebreau and Sazh's grip and fixed her sari. "Ya should have let me hit her. She was askin' for it."

"She was, but it's not worth it. It's Vanille's birthday. Don't do this," Lebreau reasoned.

Sazh just chuckled and shook his head. Vanille stormed up to her older 'sister' and stabbed her finger into the taller woman's chest. "How dare you do something like that! How could you embarrass me in front of them? How?"

"That Quistis woman needs some sense knocked into her. Life can't always be handed to someone ya know." Fang turned on her heel to retreat to her room.

"You still love her don't you? That's why you defended her."

Fang froze before hanging her head. Her mind flashed with memories of the fights she'd had with Lightning, and how they always made up afterwards. This time though… this time was different.

"Yea… I do."

XXXXXXXX

**So, what did you guys think? I know I asked you in the last chapter about who Vanille should get together with. Well, I figured that Zell should replace the OC. And I'm sorry if I disappointed you with the sudden change. Sorry. Well, I guess some people don't know who Zell is so… for you people, you can consider him as an OC.**

**So I want your opinion. How long do you think it will take Fang and Lightning to realize they're perfect for each other? How long do you think it will take the two women to get back together? And, how do you think it'll happen? Will Lebreau and all the friends interfere? Or will they just let it go?**

**Honestly, I'm leaning towards the first one. :)**

**And, funny story, I told Haruka that I wanted Lebreau to be a HUGE part of this story and it took me an hour to edit her into the birthday scene. Lol. Hope it blended in well.**

**One more, very important, question I want you guys to answer:**

**How do you like the Lightning/Serah sisterly bonding?**


	8. Flashback II

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Authors Note: **Okay guys... I'm sorry this chapter is short. But it was just a filler to happier times. It's only like 1000 words long. :( Well,, I got Red Dead Redemption and if I manage to pull myself away from it to finish the last 400-500 words of Chapter 8, I will... I just need a little push and Haruka isn't pushing me. Lol.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212 for pretty much writing the whole flashback out.**

Not Over You

Chapter Seven – Flashback 2 (Airport)

Remember the airport, dropping me off / We were kissing goodbye and we couldn't stop / (I felt bad cause you missed your flight) / But that meant we had one more night… _– "Remind Me" by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood_

XXXXXXXX

"_**Now calling all passengers for Flight 987.**__"_

"_I'll miss you…" Fang mumbled into Lightning's shoulder. Lightning wrapped her arms around Fang's waist, holding her close. She didn't want to go. It was two weeks without Fang. But she had to go and it was a requirement. Fang lifted her head and placed a kiss on her girlfriend's lips. "I love you," they both mumbled into the kiss._

"_I have- to – go…" Lightning muttered as she tried to push away but Fang just kissed her deeper. They were lucky they were in the corner of the airport, away from everyone. Lightning still had to go through security. "Baby… I have to go…" Lightning said half heartedly. All Fang did was nod and let her go reluctantly. "I love you," one last peck on the lips led to a deep kiss on behalf of Fang. Lightning smiled into the kiss but pulled away. "I have to go… I'll see you in two weeks."_

_Fang nodded. "I love you."_

"_I love you too…"_

_Lightning finally pulled herself away from Fang and walked towards security. The woman sighed and grabbed her purse, making her way towards the airport entrance. It was going to be a long two weeks without Lightning._

_It had taken them forever to pull themselves out of bed to finally get Lightning packed and ready to go. Sensitivity Training. "Fuck it… Who needs it? She's sensitive… Sometimes…" Fang chuckled. Ten minutes passed before she managed to find her car. As she went to open the door, she saw a familiar blond approaching the passengers side. "Miss your flight?" She smirked._

"_No thanks to you," Lightning said bitterly as she got into the car. Fang knew she was in trouble. When Fang got seated, she felt lips push softly onto hers. "It means we have one more night though…" She whispered against them._

XXXXXXXX

_Clothes went flying as soon as the two entered the hotel room. The airport was miles from Lightning's apartment and it would have taken then more than an hour to get home. And they knew they wouldn't last that long. Fang pushed her naked body into Lightning's as they reached the bed. The back of Lightning's knees hit the edge of the bed and refused to fall back. They had one last night to be together before she left in the morning. Damn, Fang and her clinginess… Lightning smiled._

"_I love you so much," Fang whispered against her lips. All Lightning did was push her lips into Fang's. She needed her. She didn't want Lightning to leave. Though, she did feel bad for causing her to miss her plane._

"_I love you." Lightning murmured. Her legs finally gave way and she couldn't help but giggle when she landed on her back on the center of the bed. "Come here." She grabbed her girlfriend's hand and pulled her on top of her._

"_Someone's feisty." Fang buried her head in the crock of the Instructor's neck, nipping at any skin she could get her teeth on._

_Lightning instinctively wrapped her legs around her girlfriend's waist and pulled her impossibly closer. "I need you." She whimpered – digging her nails into Fang's shoulders. The brunette sucked on a delicate patch of skin below Lightning's left ear. The simple action sent chills down her spine. She could never get enough of the woman hovering above her._

"_I wanna try something." Fang whispered. Her hand traced down the front of the Instructor's body. As her hand trailed downward her entire body shifted. Lightning's eyes remained on Fang as she coaxed one of the paler thighs upward._

"_What are you doing?" The blonde dared to ask. She gasped once one of Fang's legs threaded under her raised one. "Oh…" Her head flew back when she felt Fang's heated core nearing her own. They'd never done this before and just the idea was turning her on more than anything in the past._

_Fang's fingers dug into the skin at Lightning's hip to pull her even closer. She groaned loudly when their wet cores met. "Fuck." Fang threw her head back in pleasure as her hips rocked against her girlfriend's. The delicious friction brought both of them near release quickly._

_Neither wanted to give in though, not so soon at least. Lightning could barely breath between moans. Her fingers locked with Fang's so tightly that her nails nearly broke the skin on the back of her hand. "So close." Her other hand clenched in the sheet beside her to the point that her knuckles were white._

"_Come with me Sunshine." Fang shifted just a little to rock their clits together hard and fast._

_The slight change of angle caused Lightning's breath to catch in her lungs. "Fang!" She called out moments before an intense orgasm ripped through her body._

"_Oh… fuck." Fang lost her balance as her own body shook violently. She struggled to catch her breath as her body rested against Lightning's. "Damn…"_

_The Instructor laughed softly. Her hands came to rest on Fang's hips. "We definitely need to do that again sometime."_

"_Oh?"_

_Again Lightning laughed when she felt herself be pulled onto the slightly larger woman. "You're insatiable, you know that right?"_

"_Yup." She leaned up to capture the blonde's lips._

"_I do need to get some kind of sleep tonight." Lightning fought back half-heartedly._

"_Sleep on the plane tomorrow."_

_Not another word was spoken as Lightning flipped the bedside lamp off. Needless to say, the next time Lightning slept was on the early morning flight._


	9. Strong Enough

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note:** Hey guys. I was kinda sad at the lack of reviews for the last chapter… I under stand why though. It was the lack of length. :(. Anyway… Here's the new chapter.

**IMPORTANT!**

Guys, my brother is currently going through a rough time. He has blood clots and one of them is stuck in his leg. If it gets loose it could possibly go to his lungs which could kill him. I cannot be there for him because he lives in Utah and I'm kinda 9 hours away. Could you possibly pray for him? I'm not the hardcore religious type but it would mean a lot to me and my family. :(

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212**

Not Over You

Chapter Eight – Strong Enough

How does it feel to be different from me? / Are we the same? / How does it feel? / I'm young and I am free / But I get tired and I get weak / I get lost and I can't sleep / But suddenly… suddenly… -_"How Does It Feel?" by Avril Lavigne_

XXXXXXXX

Lightning rolled her eyes as her sister went down the list of rules. She was returning to work and the last thing she needed was for Serah to do what she was doing. "No hitting. No pushing. Not even a little tap. What do you say when you bump into someone?"

"Serah…" Lightning warned as she zipped her turtle neck.

"No, what are the words you say?" Serah asked with a slight glare.

"…" Lightning huffed. "'I'm sorry'."

"There you go! I'm sure you could do without the sarcasm though…" Serah smiled as she watched her sister dress for work. "If you get angry, go punch a punching bag. Not a coworker. So please, be nice."

"I will."

"Good."

"Okay." Lightning was getting annoyed very quickly. And her sister noticed. Serah didn't back down though. And Lightning noticed _that_. "Can you leave? I don't need someone watching me dress to make sure I match… I'm not a kid."

Serah giggled. "You sure acted like one last time you were at work."

"I did not!" Lightning defended.

"You punched that woman for taking your job."

Lightning smirked at the memory. It felt so good to punch an actual human being. Snow wasn't there, so Quistis was the victim. "And your point would be…?"

"You acted like a kid who had their favorite toy taken away from them." With that, Lightning stayed silent. Heh… She was right.

"Fine." Lightning grabbed her jacket and put it on. "I have to go to work now."

"Alright," Serah wrapped her arms around her sister tightly. Lightning returned the gesture. "I love you."

"Love you too," Lightning pushed Serah away so she could walk out the door.

Serah looked at Lightning in disbelieve. "What did I tell you about pushing?"

Lightning looked over her shoulder and smirked. "You told me co-workers. Therefore you don't count."

Serah pouted and watched her sister walk out the door.

XXXXXXXX

When Lighting entered the department, she held her head high. There was no doubt that the word of her suspension and demotion had spread like a plague throughout the people. She ignored the way people cowered out of her way until she finally made it to her desk, only to see an older man leaning against it playing on his cell phone. She immediately wanted to hurt him but she remembered what Serah said. Be nice. Don't punch anybody…

He looked up and smiled. "Well hello there," He said huskily. At least his new partner was a cutie. "I'm Drake Fisher, your partner." He held out his hand. She stared at it for a few seconds before shaking it. Be nice. Why was it so hard? She took her jacket off and sat down. He stood up from her desk and put his own coat on. "Well, let's go out for a bit. I like to know my partners."

She just sat down and now he wants her to get up again? She's tired and frustrated and he's making it worse. Was he doing it on purpose? Instead of protesting, she needed to keep her promise to Serah. She stood up and put her coat on. And out of the office they went.

The coffee shop he led her to was right across the street from the station. She had been there several times, but only when Lebreau was doing her renovations… and the coffee sucked. She gave in though when he had her sit down and he went to order the coffee. He returned a few minutes later and handed the woman her coffee.

He stared at her for a few minutes. She sure was cute. She was rough on the inside but looked so… so soft on the outside. He chuckled. "So, I heard you got blown up."

"I'm still here, am I not?" Lightning said through gritted teeth. He was eye-fucking her and she knew it. What a great way to meet your partner! Flirt…

"Doesn't change the fact you got blown up," Drake said, taking a large gulp of his coffee. "But lookie here. Here you are. In the flesh. Thankfully without the blood and guts." Lightning's eyebrow quirked up at his remarks. This guy wasn't scared of her? The others she passed nearly cowered under their desks to avoid her. "So, what's your story? How'd you get to be a cop?"

"I… um… I had to take care of my sister so…"

"Ah, you have a sister? What's her name?"

"Serah…"

"Nice name. So anyway, about you being a cop…"

"I…"

He interrupted her, "how do you like it? When did you start?"

"Uh…"

"Oh, sorry. Am I slightly intimidating? I have that effect on the ladies," He winked. He had heard about Lightning throughout the years but never met her. Apparently she rose through the ranks and hit SWAT leader at the age of 21. It was rare for someone that young to raise through the ranks as she did, but he admired her for that. But he also heard about how some cowered before her. He was determined to change that.

"Really? Well, I'm not affected. I'm kind of a lesbian," she said with no hesitation in her voice for the first time since the conversation started.

"Ah! I heard about how you're dating that one girl… what's her name? Dang? Yang? Ting?"

"Fang… and no, we're not dating…"

"Oh! Right! So, why aren't you together anymore?"

"That's personal, Detective Fisher," Lightning glared. "Look, I appreciate the coffee and all but don't we have some cases to work on?"

"Nope! We're just making time pass until we have one. I take the day cases. I have a life at home so I don't work over time or anything."

"Oh."

Oh Etro… this was going to be a long day.

XXXXXXXX

Lebreau hurried to pay the last of her groceries. She spotted Fang coming out of the office with her belongings. It was apparent she was at the end of her shift and what better time to confront her one-on-one. "Thanks." She spoke to the clerk before grabbing her three bags and practically ran out the door to catch up with the taller brunette. "Fang, wait!"

The Pulsian stopped in her tracks when she heard the voice. She turned to look at the approaching woman but didn't say anything to her until she was closer. "Lebreau…" Fang placed her hands on her hips. "Fancy meetin' you here."

"Yeah… I had to get some things for the café…" Lebreau shifted on her feet. "Look, I just wanted to say thank you for helping Lightning the other night. I'm sure it was hard."

"Didn't leave me much of a choice…"

"You still made that choice to help her when you didn't have to," Lebreau said with a slight smile.

"I couldn't just leave her, ya know?" Fang started to walk away towards her car.

"Wait!" Lebreau called out. The Pulsian turned around with a confused look on her face. All she wanted to do was go home. "Thanks… For what you did at the party. You stood up to the bimbo when you didn't have to… Look," Lebreau followed Fang to her car. "I know you still love her."

Fang tensed at the words. "And why do you care?"

"Because she's my friend. She's hurting and broken because of _you_, Fang. If you hadn't dumped her ass, she wouldn't be where she is now. It's not completely her fault for where she is now. Yeah sure, she could have prevented herself from getting this far. But you could have been a little more patient," Lebreau sad through gritted teeth. She turned towards her own vehicle. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping her. I'll see you when I see you."

And with that, Lebreau walked away and left Fang in a state of complete shock.

Lebreau was angry with her, yeah, but she knew Fang still loved Lightning. When Lighting was with her, she had never been so happy. Fang made her happy. And when that was ripped from her, she was lost.

She needed to see Lightning. She would be home… she hoped.

XXXXXXXX

It was impulse. A routine. Get home from work. Grab a glass from the cabinet. Put three ice cubes in it. Get out a bottle of scotch. Fill said glass. Then drink it on the sofa.

But now, there was something stopping her. As she stood there looking down at the glass on the counter, something inside of her was telling her to stop, to stop from filling it up to the brim.

What she hadn't realized was that Lebreau had helped herself to entering Lightning's apartment and was simply standing in the doorway watching her. She had been so caught up with her internal struggle that she didn't hear the front door open and close. Nor did she feel the presence of her friend behind her.

With a sigh, Lightning unscrewed the cap from the bottle and lifted it to fill the glass, but stopped. After releasing another heavy breath, she recapped the bottle, placed it on the counter, and then moved her glass into the sink.

She leaned against the counter, her hands near the sink. Her head lowered. She was ashamed, yeah. Why wouldn't she be? She gave Serah a promise. She even allowed her little sister to go around the house and dump all the alcohol out but… she always kept a spare in the one place Serah would never look…

"Congrats, Superstar," Lebreau clapped sarcastically. "You finally won an internal struggle with yourself!"

Lightning jumped as Lebreau's voice echoed through her head. "Why are you here?" She spat.

When she got home, she was certain she'd be alone. Serah had told her she had a date with Snow so they'd be gone until ten or so… She didn't want Lebreau there. At all.

"I'm here to check on you. I was worried." Lebreau sounded legitimately concerned. There was a softness to her voice that the detective had never heard before.

"Mhm…" Lightning tried to not sound convinced.

Lebreau saw right through it and stepped close to her. "Come on now. I think you can give me that bottle."

"Like hell."

"Come on, Lightning…" Lebreau said gently. "Don't disappoint Serah…" She reached over and grabbed the bottle. "Let it go, Light."

"Lebreau, there's nothing wrong with a drink here and there."

Lebreau tugged on the bottle. "That's your problem. You don't know how to stop once you've started."

"I know when to stop, Lebreau…" Lightning's voice was weak.

And it melted Lebreau's heart. Lightning had gone through so much and it was tearing the woman apart. "Lightning," Lebreau's voice got soft. "You can't do this. You'll break yourself down until there's nothing left of you. You'll become an emotionless, selfish bitch. Don't do this to yourself. Think of Serah." She then continued. "Think of Fang." Lightning just glared at her. How dare she bring her up! "You can get her back, Light! You just… gotta try harder." Lightning's grip on the bottle loosened and eventually let go.

With a smile, Lebreau set the bottle down on the counter and leaned against it.

"You have us, Light. You don't have to do this alone."

And in that moment, Lightning felt her whole world shift. There was something in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't go away. She knew she fucked up. Hell, she did worse than fuck up. She tore the family apart.

"I'm… so sorry," Lightning wasn't sure if it came out as a question or a serious apology. Lebreau wasn't' either. All she knew was that it _was_ indeed sincere. Family was important to Lightning and Lebreau knew that.

"It's alright…" Lebreau unscrewed the bottle and poured it down the drain as Lightning turned away.

"No, it's not," Lightning whispered softly as she wiped a single tear away. "I lost everything, Lebreau… I pushed you away and lost you. I pushed Serah away and I almost lost her… I lost Fang by pushing her away and look where I'm at. I'm too damn stubborn to see what's right in front of me…"

Lebreau chuckled as she set the empty bottle down. "We all know you're pig headed. It's about time you finally admitted it aloud."

"… Shut up," She tried to not smile, but it failed.

"All you can do, Light…" Lebreau stepped closer and hugged her before continuing, "is take everything one step at a time. This is step two. Step one was admitting you had a problem… step two is doing something about it…"

One step at a time… Lightning only hoped it was that easy.

**XXXXXXXX**

**Ugh. The last half of this chapter hasn't been edited. Sorry about the mistakes or whatever.**

**So, question.**

**Besides Fang, who would Lightning be good with? Like, who would be good enough to be with Lightning? Just wondering.**

**By the way, next week the main opener at my job is going on vacation so that means I have to take over her shifts. Boo… And it should be well around 40 hours. So… don't expect a chapter next week. It might be the week after. Depending on how much time I have to write. I'll try my best to write after work when I get home tonight at 9PM. I'm going to be drunk, so it should be an interesting and funny chapter because I'm a funny-girl drunk. And I'm off tomorrow. So I'm going to write tomorrow too. **

**ALSO! IMPORTANT! My internet went out… again. As in the router. Which is new… from the internet company… Lol. So right now I'm using my neighbors wireless internet. They don't mind but I'm not going to use it much because one of them uses the internet from the time they get off work to the time they go to bed. So I figured I'd post this chapter before he got home. I probably won't post until the internet company gets me a new one.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	10. Louder Than Thunder

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **Ummmm… so I'm sorry? The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Uncharted 3 has taken over my life. Sorry! I'll make it up to you. In other news, I just preordered FFXIII-2. I hope that'll get me to update every 2 weeks like I used to. You guys have no idea how hard it is for me to not watch the first 20 minutes of FFXIII-2… It's in my youtube recommended videos and it's tormenting me. It won't GO AWAY! Lol. Anyway, happy new year and hope you enjoy this.

**ALSO! **I figured I'd do something different. I wanted to delve into the minds of the two ex-lovers. Hence, the first person view. :)

**Thanks to haruka-chan 212 for editing**

Not Over You  
>Chapter Nine – Louder Than Thunder<p>

I don't think I deserve it / selflessness find your way into my arms / All starts could be brighter… / All hearts could be warmer… -_"Louder Than Thunder" by Devil Wears Prada_

XXXXXXXX

**Lightning's POV  
><strong>**Three days later**

How did it get so bad? Why did I get here? _How_ did I get here?

Have you ever wished that you could rewind time and do things over? And if you could, have you ever thought of the consequences? What if nothing changed and you were just in a constant rewind-play for the rest of your miserable lonely life, forcing you to relive the one moment you just wanted to change?

… Yeah. That's me.

I sighed and cuddled closer to the back of the couch, and pulled my legs towards me. What was wrong with me? Before the accident with Begum, I was a recluse pretty much. Afterwards, it's like something inside of me changed. My walls fell and out came this outgoing, carefree Lightning. And now…?

I'm a recluse. Again.

I'm an introvert. Again.

The truth was… I missed her. What was it about her that drew me in? Ever since the beginning, we'd always had this love/hate relationship. Always fighting. Always bickering about something. But something about the way she treated me after the accident changed everything.

She was loving, caring, and most of all, herself. That made me smile.

The way she whispered loving reassurance to me when I had a hard day at work. The way she caressed my face when we made love… I just… missed her.

But it's my fault she's gone.

Lebreau helped me realize that.

When my parents died, I had to grow up quickly. Quicker than most eighteen year olds ever had to. I had to become the mother on top of being the sister to Serah. I had to work hard to provide for her. To make sure she was happy. It was my responsibility to pay all the bills and make sure she had food in her stomach.

I guess when Fang and I got closer and more comfortable with each other, I did the same thing I did to Serah. I let myself get lost in my job. Taking ridiculous hours and jobs just so I could give Fang what she wanted. What she needed.

Never once did it sink in that all she ever seemed to want was me. She never needed material things. Whatever she needed or wanted, she would get for herself. Her job was just as secure as mine, I understood that it paid less… but money didn't matter to her. She was happy.

But not anymore.

And it was my fault.

When I lost her, I felt like my world collapsed around me. First it was her, then it was the demotion. On top of that, I was handed a new partner who's just as annoying as Vanille, if not more so.

I jolted out of my thoughts when I heard the front door open. "It's cold out there!" I cringed as her voice came through loudly. I heard her kick the snow off her boots before she walked into the living room, kicking them off lazily. She collapsed on the couch near me. "Hey, sis."

"Hey."

There was silence between the two of us. I handed Serah the remote and, while she looked for something to watch, I grabbed a blanket and put it over the two of us. She curled closer to me and put the remote down.

Honestly, I missed times like these where it was just her and I. I think I just missed my little sister. Back before she and Snow got married, her and I would have nights like these once a week. But now that she's out of the house, we barely saw each other… but why would she be here now? As if she read my mind, she answered. "Snow is in Palumpolum for training..."

"So you came here?"

"I got lonely and schools out on winter break."

All I did was nod and tried turning my attention back to the television. I had to get my mind off Fang.

XXXXXXXX

Hours later, I managed to tuck Serah in on my couch and head off to bed myself.

But I couldn't sleep. I looked at the clock and groaned in defeat. I wished my head had an off button. Fang used to rub my back whenever I couldn't sleep. She had this uncanny sense of knowing when my mind wouldn't stop running in a million different directions. Most nights she wouldn't even say a word, she'd just reach over and her touch alone would get my mind to shut up. There were some nights too where she'd just crack jokes about her co-workers or one of our friends just to get me to relax…

But all that was gone.

It was gone in an instant.

I could have taken her in my arms and apologized but I just let her go. I could have called her a few days later and apologized but I didn't. I'm such an idiot…

I sat up and rubbed my tired eyes. I looked at the clock again, and saw it was two hours to midnight. Fuck… I threw the covers off and got dressed.

I needed a walk.

XXXXXXXX

**Fang's Point of View**

Little bugger. I swear if she keeps snoring I'm gonna suffocate her in her sleep!

I glared down at her… Vanille was curled under her blanket on the other end of the sofa. At least she was way over there, but her snoring is driving me nuts. At least Lightning never snored.

And there I go again. That little know-it-all soldier is right on my mind… Again. Fuck.

Why am I still thinkin' about her? She never seemed to care about me since she was always workin'. Lightning always claimed she loved me. HA! Bloody lies. Every time she told me it would be followed by an, "I'm going to work. See you later."

Why do I even bother? No matter how hard I try, I can't stay mad at her. I miss her too damn much… Those annoyin' little scoffs at something I'd say, hell, or do. Yeah, sure… We fought a lot, sure, but there was always some compromise though. It worked for us. It's what made us stronger. Until her damn pride got in the way.

I let out a sigh. Seems I've been doing that a lot lately. As I flipped through the channels in a desperate search for something to watch, I rested my head down against the armrest of the sofa. If Lightning were here, she'd know exactly what to watch. No, better yet, the TV wouldn't be on at all. I chuckled at my own thoughts.

After shootin' a quick glance in Vanille's direction, I turned the volume of the TV up some so I could hear it better. Looks to be some kind of comedy…

"Turn that down."

Great, now she's awake… the snoring was less annoying. "Go back to sleep, Vanille."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her starting to sit up. "I'm just going to go to my room." She stood up, grabbed her blanket, and then disappeared down the hallway.

At least I could have peace and quiet again. This time without the damn snoring.

A familiar tone filled the room. I hadn't even realized I was starting to fall asleep until it woke me back up. Who the bloody hell is calling me at this hour? If it's work I'm gonna throw a fit!

I looked down at the screen... It was her. The woman who's invaded my thoughts for months now. I don't wanna answer it. Don't think I can handle another drunken phone call from her. But she could be hurt... no, Light wouldn't call me if she was hurt, hell that woman wouldn't call anybody, she'd hobble her way to the doctor's. It should go to voicemail soon...

Fuck it.

"Ya better not be drunk again."

_"We need to talk."_

"That tends to be the point of calling someone." At least the last time I checked it was. You call people to talk to them... right?

_"Can you open your door? It's cold out here and I can't feel my fingers."_

She's outside my house? "What the bloody hell do you mean open the door?" I wrapped the blanket around me as I stood up. "Guess I've got no choice but to talk huh?" I ended the call before opening up the front door to see her standing there. My breath caught in my throat when our eyes met. "Do you realize... how bloody cold it is out here? I thought that since you lived in a town with a beach and near 110 degree weather, it'd never get below 30! Let alone snow," and it was. It was fucking freezing, and standing here with my front door open and her standing there like a tree stump wasn't helping.

"I just… we need to talk," the pink haired detective said softly. "I'm sorry… if you want me to just go back home, I won't complain. You have every right to be mad at me."

To say I was shocked was an understatement. We both honestly had things we needed to say.

I held in the smile that wanted to break out. My lip quivering in the attempt. I looked at Lightning's face as everything I wanted to say ran through my mind, but I couldn't focus on just one thing… Only thing I could think of though, was how cute she looked, wrapped up in her coat and scarf. Her nose and cheeks were a light pink color, probably from the cold. She looked… absolutely adorable…

"Ya obviously came here for a reason…" I said before stepping aside to let her in. Damn it's cold outside, the wind was cutting through the blanket. "Get in here already." I closed the door quickly behind her before following her out to the living room where she was already removing her scarf. "You're here… so talk."

There was a long silence as I just watched her. I always could tell when she was nervous, she had this cute little habit of playing with the bottom of her shirt… or in this case, her coat. "It's just…" Again she fell silent. It was obvious she was searching for the right words to say. "I miss you Fang. I miss everything about you. When I go to sleep, I'm freezing. Your warmth isn't there with me. Just your memory. The memory of what once was… of what once was perfect. You're perfect. What we had was perfect. Until I screwed it all up. I let my pride get in the way of us. God Fang I love you so much. I can't… I need you Fang."

Well that's odd. She hardly ever rants like that. I was truly at a loss. I know what I wanted to say to her, but that was before she started her talking. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, she continued.

"What I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry. For everything."

I stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Do ya really expect it all to be okay now? Do ya feel better now that you've apologized?" I don't even know where the bitter tone came from. Why was her apologizin' making me so upset?

"Honestly? No… I don't. I just miss you Fang." Her eyes stayed trained on her lap. It was cute how she could never look at me whenever we had a serious conversation.

"We should have had this conversation months ago Light." I looked down at my own lap. It was the truth. We should have talked after we split apart. We should have been able to push the differences aside to at least try to mend whatever friendship we had left. "Ya know, you're not the only one who has trouble sleepin." It was true. Most nights I tossed and turned. I couldn't stop wondering what she was doing, or even how she was.

I glanced up at her just in time to see her eyes close. "I'm sorry… I let me pride get the best of me… and look where we are. Our families are torn apart."

"Ya broke my heart light… we won't be what we were before."

She let out a small laugh. It wasn't a happy one though, like those ones I'd come to love causing and hearing. No, it was a half-hearted, sad chuckle. "Somehow… I knew you'd say that. I'm sorry to have bothered you. I'll just g-go."

"Wait." I called out before grabbing her wrist on instinct to stop her from walking off. "We need to start over Light. I can't just jump back into a relationship with you." Our eyes met for a brief moment and I could see all the hurt and discomfort in those blue eyes of hers. "I… I do miss you. Every damn day I miss you Light. But you need to learn to swallow your pride. Ya can't always control everything Sunshine."

Her lip twitched just a little bit. It had to have been the use of her nickname. I don't even know where it came from, it just slipped out. "I should probably get going. It's late…" I watched her stand up and didn't hesitate in joining her. In a way, things felt like they were back before we split up. Like clockwork, every time she'd leave I'd walk her to the door. Why would this be any different? "I know you have work in the morning."

She still remembered my schedule? I couldn't hide the smile that came to my face as I looked at her when we got to the door. "You still remember my schedule?"

"I think so… why?"

Why? Because it's sweet. It shows me she still cares. Somewhere inside of that cold hard shell, I knew she still had a heart. "No reason…" When her hand reached for the doorknob, I stopped it with my own before interlocking our fingers and stepping closer. "It's late, be careful goin home yea?" Her lips curled up into a small smile and I just couldn't stop myself.

I closed the last bit of distance between us and pressed my lips to hers. What was I doing? Her lips always felt so perfect against mine. Even after all this time. Nothing's ever felt so right. But it couldn't last. I wouldn't let it. Before she had a chance to pull me closer, I broke apart and looked right into her eyes. "I missed that…" Her eyes were still closed, and I was almost tempted to do it again. But I couldn't.

"I did too… But Light, ya have to understand, it won't happen again."

"Yea, I get that." She wrapped her scarf back around her neck and turned the knob of the door to leave.

I let out a shaky breath. Why did she always do this to me? Just being near her made my knees go weak and my resolve crumble. "We have to repair our friendship first… then… anything's possible."

Another smile graced those perfect lips of hers. "Alright… Good night Fang."

"Good night Sunshine… you better go right home too, don't want ya gettin sick."

Lightning nodded and turned away from me. Her warmed hands grasped the doorknob and walked out the now open door. I always hated watching her walk away. "Lightning!" I called. She turned around and had a hopeful look on her face. "Be careful." All she did was smile softly and nod. And I watched her walk away.

Again.

XXXXXXXX

**Vanille's Point of View**

Oh God, oh God… Did I just see what I thought I saw? Oh wow… I HAVE to call Serah. Serah has got to know about this. Oh wow. Oh crap… Fang's coming!

I hurried to close my door before she noticed me watching her. That would be bad if she saw me… She might kill me! No… she _would_ kill me. Yea, no doubt about that one.

I sat on my bed for a moment. I guess I'm still in shock over what I saw and heard. They weren't yelling like they always did. And Fang kissed Lightning. And was that a smile I saw on Fang's face afterwards? I know I didn't just make that up. I know what it looks like when someone kisses someone else. Are they back together? Oh I have to call Serah. She'll kill me for waking her up but I don't care.

Before the phone finished its first ring, Serah answered. "_This better be good._"

"Oh. It is. I promise."

XXXXXXXX

**Cookies and treats for those who review... Tell me what you think. Sorry about the long wait though, guys. I swear. I feel bad. :( Gonna try to work on the next chapter tonight. But for now, I'm gonna go play some FFXIII. I need to get my fix before FFXIII-2 comes out.**

**NEXT TIME: The Farron's and their lovely friends are prepping for Christmas! I think we need some humor up in this bitch, don't you?**


	11. Baby, It's Cold Outside

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **Here's another update. Sorry it's so lame. I've been trying to get my groove back. I'm hoping the next few chapters get better.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212**

Not Over You

Chapter Ten – Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's hard to say I'm sorry / It's hard to make the things I did undone / A lesson I've learned too well, for sure / So don't hang up the phone now / I'm trying to figure out just what to do / I'm going crazy without you -_"I Want You Back" by NSYNC_

XXXXXXXX

"When I get back, can we _please_ hang up the Christmas decorations, sis?" Serah pleaded with her sister as she wrapped a thick scarf around her neck. She was on her way to pick up Snow from the train station.

"I guess…" But she already had other plans going through her mind. She knew Serah would be out for a while. She already heard her making plans with her oversized oaf of a husband over the phone to have lunch.

"Thanks!" Serah hugged her sister and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you in a few hours." Lightning nodded and watched Serah walk out the door.

"Great…" Lightning walked into the kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee. She leaned against the counter, facing the bay window. The snow continued to fall. Honestly, Lightning was surprised Bodhum had gotten snow. It hadn't snowed for years and for the last couple of weeks it had been nothing _but_ snow. Well… she couldn't complain. She preferred the white snow and not the oaf Snow… She'd take what she could get.

'_I can't set all this stuff up by myself…_' Lightning cringed as she thought about one Christmas where she set the stuff up herself… it was a disaster.

She couldn't call Lebreau. She was too busy setting up for her Christmas Eve party at the bar.

She couldn't call Sazh or Hope, they were thousands of miles away.

She obviously couldn't call Serah.

She let out a heavy sigh before pulling her phone out of her pocket. She really didn't want to spend the next few hours alone. But the only person she could think to call was Fang. If she called her though, it may seem too forward of her to want to spend time with her again so soon…

Maybe that's what Fang wants? She might want to talk to Lightning – hang out with her. They were trying to mend things, right?

She pushed the call button after she found Fang's number. After a few rings, she picked up.

"_Well, good mornin', sunshine._"

"Hey," Lightning couldn't help the smile that broke through. It was like a teenage girl talking to her all time crush.

"_I see ya made it home okay the other night and ya don't sound sick. I'm surprised ya actually listened,_" Fang joked. Lightning heard some rustling around. Sounds like she woke Fang up.

"Sorry if I woke you_._"

"_Ah, ya didn't. Vanille did, actually… She's been buggin' me the last few days. Apparently she overheard our conversation… observed it too," _Fang chuckled.

Lightning's eyes widened. Was that why Serah was acting funny the day after? "I'm gonna kill her."

"_Oh, trust me. That part's already taken care of_," Fang smirked. "_So why'd ya call me?"_

How was Lightning going to ask Fang probably the most embarrassing question she'd ever asked? "Well, are you free today? Serah wants to set up for Christmas, but I figured I'd surprise her by doing it myself but…"

"_Ya don't have to explain nothin' to me, Light. I'll be over in a few hours. Want me to bring Vanille along?"_

"I was maybe hoping we could have some time… just us, you know? Try to rebuild our friendship some…"

There was a slight pause before Fang took a deep breath. "_Alright, I'm game. No funny business, yea?_"

Lightning laughed softly. "No. Just two friends hanging lights. Promise."

"_Good. I'll bring coffee and lunch. See ya in an hour, Light._"

With that, the two hung up and Lightning looked at the boxes in the living room. She took a deep breath and started to go through them. Why did she always have to be the first one into the lights? Lightning and Christmas lights shared a hateful relationship with one another…

"Here we go…" She just hoped this year would be different…

She _really_ hoped this year would be different.

XXXXXXXX

Fang hurried out of her car, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck in an attempt to keep the cold away. She grabbed the bag of food and the coffee. "Should have bloody stayed in Oerba…" She mumbled to herself before pushing the front door open without knocking, much like she'd done many times in the past.

"Don't come in here! Give me a minute!" Lightning yelled from the living room. Fang's brow rose as she kicked her snow boots off and took her jacket and scarf off. "Fuck!" The next thing Fang heard, was a loud thud from the living room. Thinking the worst, she ran into the living room and saw Lightning, wrapped in Christmas lights, sprawled on the floor.

"Trying to be a human Christmas tree, Light?" Fang smirked. "When you said 'hanging lights', I didn't think you meant yourself."

"I told you not to come in!" Lightning blushed.

"And when have I ever listened to you?" Fang looked in a box near Lightning and pulled out a star top, placing it on Lightning's head. "There ya go."

Lightning glared at Fang before shaking the star topper off her head. "Don't just stand there, help me!"

"I am," Fang said as she adjusted a few lights. "Should I plug you in?"

"If I die, I'm going to kill you."

'_Same ol' Light…'_ Fang smiled. Lightning scoffed and struggled to take the lights off. "Fine, fine. Upsy daisy," she lifted Lightning to her feet and laughed. "How the bloody hell did this happen?"

"Oh, _this_? THIS happened because Serah insists on having Christmas decorations put up every year. I hate it when she does it. She always goes overboard. I thought that if I did it myself I could eliminate the headache that is Serah and Christmas…"

"Yea, look how that turned out."

"Why did I invite you over again?" Lightning blushed. '_This is way too embarrassing…_'

Fang couldn't stop laughing. "Apparently to save ya from the evil demon lights here…" She started searching for the end of the lights. "How the heck did this happen? What were you doing to make you a human Christmas tree?"

"It's not my fault Serah just throws the lights in the box every year…" She grumbled.

"So… it's the lights fault then?"

"…. Absolutely."

Fang chuckled at that and shook her head. "Alright, let's find the end to this thing. Where was the last time you saw it?" She thought for a minute, "Oh yeah. It's on you… somewhere."

"Ha… ha…" Lightning faked. "Very funny."

"Come on, Sunshine," Fang laughed. "It's funny."

"Not really…" Lightning said solemnly. "They're poking me in weird places… Did you find the end yet?"

"Yep!"

After a few minutes of unwrapping, no pun intended, Lightning, they sat down on the couch and sipped their coffee. "So, I take it you and Christmas don't get along."

"Never have, never will."

"Ah, you will someday. I hated it. But the giddy redhead who lives with me made me like it."

For some reason, Lightning was always jealous of Vanille. She liked the redhead, but she couldn't help but feel jealous. She got to see Fang every day, Lightning didn't.

"Serah's tried for years to get me to like it… but honestly? It's just another day for me."

"Christmas is a time to start over. Let your personal issues go for a while to spend time with your family. And that's how I've lived Christmas for the last couple years. With my family."

Lightning sighed, "Yeah… I guess you're right." She stood up and walked towards the back. "Want to help me get the tree set up? It's just out back…"

"That was why I came over here, ya know," Fang winked.

The two trying to get the large tree in the house was… an interesting sight. "Push harder, Fang."

"Never had any complaint- Ow!" Fang dropped the tree when Lightning, literally, shoved it through the door. "Was that really necessary?"

"It was either that or cut a new hole in the wall. Sacrifices are necessary."

"I woulda helped ya cut the damned hole in the wall, ya know," Fang grumbled as the two picked the tree back up and headed towards the living room. "Where the bloody hell did ya get this thing? It's huge and heavy," she asked as they set the tree down.

"I got lucky," Lightning stretched her back and sighed. "Alright. Serah's gonna be home in an hour. We need to get this done before she gets back or she'll take over."

XXXXXXXX

A small smile played on Lightning's lips as she looked around the fully decorated living room. Everything looked nice. Nothing was overdone. It looked just as good as Serah would have done it. "Want a beer?" She asked Fang.

"Sure," Fang collapsed on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. "I could use one."

"I'll be back," Just as Lightning walked into the kitchen, the front door opened. Serah came through the door with Snow and nearly screamed as she saw the mess.

"What did you do?" She looked at Lightning. "Did you do this?"

"It was both of us, Serah," Lightning said coolly as she sat down on the couch, handing Fang a beer.

"So… Fang came over, you fought and tore everything apart and now you're enjoying a drink?" Serah saw Snow rub the back of his head.

"Uhm.. Serah? They're enjoying a beer together. The tree's set up…" He drifted off.

"Wait, Fang's here?"

"Right over here. If ya weren't so busy yelling at Sunshine you would have noticed."

Fang chuckled as Serah hugged Lightning tightly. "So you two ARE back together!"

Lightning's brow furrowed, and Fang noticed. "No," the elder Farron said. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Vanille…" Serah said sheepishly. "She called me as soon as you left."

"Look, Vanille sees what she wants to see," Fang said seriously.

"But you two kissed!"

Lightning stood up. "I… left something in the oven." She set her beer down and walked into the kitchen. From where Fang sat, she could see Lightning lean against the oven, rubbing her face tiredly.

"Ya got a biiig mouth, Serah…"

"Sis? I didn't mean-" Just as she entered the doorway, Lightning was coming out, nearly colliding with her.

"It's fine Serah," she turned her attention towards Fang, who was still sitting on the sofa. "Will you help me clean this mess up?

"Just as long as there's no Christmas lights in any of these boxes…"

XXXXXXXX

Lightning was bored. The problem with working as a detective… winter was extremely lame. It was boring. Nothing happened. Criminals didn't want to commit a crime in the winter. Why would they? It was freezing. They simply got paid for sitting on their asses all day long trying to find something to do. She was getting antsy.

"Hey, Light?" Drake smiled at her, "You got company." He pointed behind her.

It was Fang. "Hey, Detective."

Lightning stood up quickly, nearly knocking her desk over in an attempt to be generous. "Fang," she greeted after she straightened the papers out swiftly.

She was extremely confused… or… was it confusion or an overwhelming feeling? The last few days had been crazy for her. Fang and her made up extremely quickly. Though not dating, Lightning was grateful Fang even gave her a chance….

Drake found it amusing. He could sense her confusion by how quickly she stood up. He just sat there, a smile trying to not show. "So… this is the infamous Fang, eh?" He got up from his chair and walked over to her. "Nice to finally meet you. Lightning has told me _so_ much about you," He held his hand out. She took it and shook it.

"Has she now?"

Lightning blushed. "Okay, no," Drake admitted, "but I do know that you were the talk of the station for a while. A long while. People used to hide behind their desks, one of those people being me, when she'd come in with a wide smile on her face."

Though his talking, Lightning tried to interrupt by calling his name, but nothing would stop the man. "Yeah, I seem to have that affect on people."

'_Cocky as always…_' Lightning leaned against her desk as she looked at Fang, wearing her work clothes with a VISITORS name tag on the collar. "So, why are you here? Aren't you working?"

"Yep. There was a special order that I had to help the bakery girls bring over and I figured I'd stop by to see ya," Fang smiled.

Drake smiled at the taller woman, "aw, isn't that sweet?"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Lightning turned to glare at her partner in the silent hope that he would leave. Her actions didn't go unnoticed by Fang, who chuckled softly at her.

The man just stood there for a minute before shaking his head and stayed right where he was. "Nope, I think I'm good right here."

Lightning's arms came up to fold over her chest as her eyes narrowed at him. "Drake… go bug the recruits…" she hated how pleading her voice sounded to him, but she really didn't want him around while she talked with her ex.

"Right…" He left and finally disappeared, causing Lightning to become relaxed for the first time all day.

"I like him," Fang smirked. "He reminds me of me."

"You would…" She smiled softly before sitting down in her chair. "How long can you stay for?"

Fang carefully leaned against the desk near the detective. "Not that long… I guess I just wanted to ask ya something."

Lightning felt her heart leap into her throat, but did her best to maintain her composure. "What's that?"

"Well, I was just wonderin' if you were free after ya got off? Maybe we could get some coffee."

"Sure!" Lightning blushed when she realized how quickly she answered. "I mean… yeah sure if you want to. I don't…"

"Stop the act, Light," Fang smiled.

Lightning quickly cleared her throat to calm her nerves back down, "I have absolutely _no_ idea what you're talking about." Sadly though, she could feel the blush rising to her cheeks. No matter what happened, Fang always had that effect on her. Even before they started dating, the effects were the same.

Fang chuckled and pushed herself off the desk. "If ya say so, darlin'. I've gotta get back. I'll pick ya up after work." With that, she walked away and out of the police station.

"Yea… after work…"

'_Is this a date? … No… it's not. Is it? That part of our relationship is over. Isn't it? It's just coffee with a… friend… right? Yea, that's all it is._'

Needless to say… the rest of Lightning's day went by _extremely_ slowly.

XXXXXXXX

**Hope you liked it. Look for a One-Shot posted by either me or Haruka. We're co-writing one.**

**By the way, anyone else play the FFXIII-2 Demo? I love FFXIII. I thought it was a good game but there were some bits of Gameplay I did not like. I'm glad they've fixed that in 2. ****J Anyone preorder FFXIII-2? I've preordered mine already. I gave in and got the Collector's Edition. Wasn't going to but it called for me. Lol. I'm just hoping it's $79.99 well spent.**

**ONE MORE THING!**

**If anyone has PSN and owns:**

**AC: B**

**RE5**

**Uncharted 2 or 3**

**CoD: Black Ops (zombies mode is the mode I like)**

**You can add me on PSN. My username is located in my profile. Just send me a message over PSN and let me know who you are. If you don't do so I won't add you.**

**Time for work (at 6 in the morning yippee). See you guys later.**


	12. Merry Christmas, Darling

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **Here's another update. Sorry it's so lame. I've been trying to get my groove back. I'm hoping the next few chapters get better. TEN DAYS AND FFXIII-2 IS OUT!

I'm not happy with this chapter for some reason...

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212 – She wrote most of this chapter. Well… not most. But most… if that makes sense. Oh, unedited. All I did was go through spelling and grammar and I'm sure that isn't even done correctly. I'm tired and I have to be up at four in the morning so I can go to work.**

Not Over You

Chapter Eleven – Merry Christmas, Darling

The logs on the fire / Fill me with desire / To see you and to say / That I wish you Merry Christmas / Happy New Year too / I've just one with on this Christmas Eve / I wish I were with you / Merry Christmas / Merry Christmas / Merry Christmas / Merry Christmas, Darling -_"Merry Christmas, Darling" by Lea Michelle (Glee)_

XXXXXXXX

Peace.

That was what she felt whenever she slept. The subtle ticking of the wall clock cooed her to sleep the previous night. Ever since Serah and Snow moved out, she found it easier to sleep. Snow wasn't there, being loud every morning. Serah's wonderful cooking didn't coax her awake every morning. It was just Lightning. And a peaceful day where she didn't have to work and she could just sleep.

But there was one thing she couldn't put her finger on… Why was she bouncing up and down? She was even rolling… Was she getting sea sick?

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

Lightning jolted awake as Serah continued to jump on her bed. Whilst in mid air, Lightning looked at the clock. It was five in the morning. "Serah…"

"Come on, get up," Serah begged.

"You're not six anymore, Serah. Let me sleep."

"Si-is!"

"Go away…" Lightning pulled the blankets over her head in hopes that Serah would go away.

Serah didn't get the hint. "But it's Christmas!" She plopped down next to her sister.

"Don't care… Let me sleep." Lightning gripped the blankets tightly around her body. She never understood why Serah insisted on waking up before the sun did. It was something that never changed, even from when they were kids.

"What happened to you waking me up in the morning?"

Lightning chuckled some. There was one point in time when the older sister was the one waking the younger sister up. That lasted for about two years before Serah started to take over. "I was six and you were three… that was a long time ago." Serah slid under the blankets beside Lightning. "When are the others coming?"

Serah wrapped her arms around her elder sister and cuddled in close. It had actually been routine since their parents died. Serah would wake up before the sun and get Christmas dinner started. Once the ham was in the oven in a slow cook, she would go into her sister's room and wake her up. She would then get under the blankets with her sister and they would just lie there, talking. "They'll be here in a few hours… Sazh and Dajh called and let me know they're on the train now. Hope and his father are going to be here by noon." As Serah finished, she felt Lightning's breathing slow, falling into a deep sleep. "Sleep well, sis."

XXXXXXXX

Dajh was so excited. He would be able to see Auntie Lightning and Auntie Serah. Auntie Lightning could take him out and play in the snow! It was so long since she and him had played in the snow. His daddy was just as excited and he knew it. "Daddy! Are we there yet?"

"Actually, son…" He stopped the car. "We're here."

"YAY!"

And with that, Dajh was out of the car and headed towards Lightning's apartment. He could see the Christmas tree from the window. It was lit up and he could even see the presents stacked tall. He couldn't contain his excitement any longer. He ran up the stairs and bolted through the door. He didn't even bother taking his snow jacket or his boots off. "Hey, kiddo!" Snow called from the kitchen. "Want some…" Dajh was gone, "hot… chocolate?" He just smiled and shook his head.

Dajh had bigger and better things on his mind. As soon as he got through the door, he looked and didn't see Lightning anywhere. He saw Serah putting some last minute decorations on the tree and Snow was in the kitchen. Lightning was nowhere to be seen.

He knew Auntie Lightning was still in bed.

He ran though the cracked door and saw the familiar pink hair peeking out through the blankets. He stopped in front of the bed and crawled in. Why did her bed have to be so big. "Wake up!" He exclaimed as soon as he got on the bed.

Lightning pulled the blankets down and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey, sweetie," She pulled him down on the bed and pulled him towards her side. "You know better than to jump on the bed."

He giggled and sat up. "You need to get up! It's Christmas!"

"It is. I'll tell you what, I'll get up and I'll let you have a Christmas cookie, okay?"

"Okay!" He got up quickly and jumped off the bed.

"And take your boots off at the front door!" Lightning called out with a smile.

"Okay!" His voice disappeared down the hallway.

Etro, she loved that kid.

XXXXXXXX

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Sazh exclaimed, sipping some of Serah's famous hot chocolate. "You're up bright and early."

Lightning just yawned and sat down at the dining room table. She laid her head down on the table and sighed. "I'm up bright and early because that one," she motioned her hand towards Serah's general direction, "decided to jump on me at five in the morning."

"Light!" Dajh came running into the kitchen. "You said I could have a cookie."

Lightning lifted her head from the table and smiled. "I guess I did, huh?" She got up and walked towards the counter, handing him a red cookie. "There you go."

Sazh smiled and leaned towards Serah, who had just walked into the kitchen. "You know, whenever you guys have kids, she'll be the best aunt ever."

"I know," Serah smiled back at him. "Another side of her comes out when Dajh is around."

"Maternal instinct," Sazh added.

"Thanks, Light!" Dajh hugged the woman after taking his cookie.

"You're welcome sweetheart," She ruffled his hair before turning to look at Sazh and Serah. "What?"

They both just smiled and shook their heads. The detective rolled her eyes at her friend and her sister before pouring herself a cup of coffee. "When is everybody else getting here?"

"They'll be here anytime."

Lightning nodded and walked down the hallway, coffee in hand. She needed a nice, long, hot shower to get her going.

Lightning's hand reached out to turn the handles of the hot and cold water. While waiting for it to warm up, she quickly stripped out of her clothing. A smirk played on her lips as she started to wonder what time Fang and Vanille would be showing up. Knowing how Vanille and Serah were so much alike, she knew they'd be the last ones to arrive. Vanille always waited until the last minute to do anything, especially to get ready for a party.

Her smirk grew into a smile as she stepped into the water, her mind now filled with images of Fang – arms folded, leaning against the wall as she watched Vanille run around like a chicken without a head.

She had a hard time admitting to anybody else, but she could easily admit to herself… she missed Fang. She missed everything about the Pulsian. Her laugh, her smile, her witty humor – at least she was starting to get some of it back. What she missed most though, was her touch. Lightning's eyes closed as she tilted her head back to look up at the hot steam of water. Her hands reached up to run her fingers through her hair, making sure it was completely wet. Subconsciously, those same fingers started to trail down her neck before moving over the expanse of her chest.

She gasped softly when a single finger grazed her already hard nipple. She hadn't realized what thinking of Fang was actually doing to her. But now that she'd started, she definitely couldn't stop. Her hands seemed to have a mind of her own. Her imagination was turning them into Fang's hands – hitting all of the right spots all over her body until finally two fingers threaded between her thighs to find an already overheated, soaked core.

She shifted her body so her back was pressed against the cool tile wall. One of her hands cupped her breast, fingers toying harshly with its nipple. It wasn't often when she touched herself. Honestly, she wasn't sure what exactly sparked it, especially with the notion that her house was full of people. Right now, as she was quickly reaching her peak, none of that mattered.

"Fuck…" she cursed under her breath as two of her fingers slid effortlessly into her passage. Fang was the only person who ever had her so on edge. Now even just as the mere thought of Fang having her pressed against the shower wall, lips biting and sucking on her neck, fingers thrusting into her… It was enough to have her on edge, and she wasn't even there.

Lightning bit her lip to stifle a loud moan. Her eyes slammed closed as her hips rocked against her thrusting fingers. So. Close.

Her eyes shot open just as quickly as they had closed when the sound of the bathroom door opening drew her away from her oncoming orgasm. "Get out!" She didn't know who it was that just barged in but she may as well have kissed her orgasm goodbye.

"Morning, Sunshine."

"Fang, what are you doing in here?" Lightning continued to lean against the wall of the shower, not trusting her legs to support all of her weight.

Fang's soft chuckle filled the room. "Have to pee."

"Can't you wait five more minutes? I'm kind of in the shower here."

Again Fang chuckled, this time louder than the first. "Ya know if I'd taken the time to do it at home, Vanille woulda found something else to make us even more late."

"Don't care! Fang, get out so I can finish my shower!" Lightning called out again. She was seriously getting tired of Fang walking in on her in compromising positions. Her mind instantly flashed back to the tub incident several months prior and how she caught her about to touch herself.

"Ya mean finish enjoyin' your shower?"

Lightning instantly flushed. Fang must have heard her as she walked into the bathroom.

When Fang received no response, she continued speaking, "come on, Light. It's not like I haven't seen it… or heard it before," she grinned to herself.

"Whatever. Just pee and get out!" Lightning turned to face the water spray again. Her heart felt like it was going to explode just from the proximity Fang was to her naked-self. She reached up to grab the bottle of shampoo, squirted some in her hand and proceeded to lather up her hair.

"Might wanna hurry up. Think hope just got here." Fang smirked as she fixed her sari. She couldn't resist. It wasn't in her nature to be able to resist having some fun with her friends.

"AH!" Lightning screamed at the top of her lungs when she was hit in the face with ice cold water, compliments of Fang flushing the toilet. "Fuck you, Fang!" She shouted out after she was able to get out from under the steady stream of icicles falling in her face.

"Yup, sure ya were just imagining doing that, Sunshine." Fang smirked to herself before pulling the bathroom door shut behind her.

Lightning sighed to herself. That woman was going to be the death of her yet.

XXXXXXXX

Lightning was helping her sister wash the last of the dishes from dinner. She'd never admit it out loud, but the day was fun. Even starting out with being jumped on… twice, and frozen out of a shower. It was amazing for her to see everybody again and for everybody to get along. Even her and Fang had shared a few friendly glances and kind words. When Quistis showed up with Amodar, his wife, and Zell, she was in too much of a good mood to care. Granted, she didn't talk to the woman very much, but she wasn't bothered by her presence.

"Light?" Dajh cautiously stepped up beside the older woman. When he was sure he had her attention, he continued speaking. "Can we go play in the snow? Pretty please?" He threw on his best pouting face, even though he knew Lightning would tell him yes anyway.

Fang snickered at the child before leaning close to Vanille and whispering to her. "That boy's got her so whipped."

Vanille nodded her head quickly. "She is. It's cute though… it shows she has a different side. Underneath that cold, bitter, behemoth exterior… she's really just a cute fluffy stuffed moogle."

"… A stuffed moogle? Really, Van? That's the best you can come up with?" Fang laughed. "But you're right… Now, why don't you go tend to your… boyfriend," Fang cringed at the word. What Vanille saw in that overzealous boy was beyond her.

Vanille noticed her tone and pouted. "Fine, I think I will!" She turned and walked towards Zell.

Fang shook her head and chuckled. She watched Lightning walk out the front door with Dajh pulling her behind him. The best part? Lightning had a smile on her face the whole time. When Dajh let her hand go, Lightning bent down, grabbed some snow and put it in a ball, and threw it gently at the back of the kids head.

Dajh started to chase her and that was when Fang saw it.

Lightning was happy. She was good with Dajh. She loved Dajh. "You love her."

Fang jumped. "Serah, you… startled me. It's not nice to sneak up on people like that."

"You do, don't you? Those feelings never left you…"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about."

Serah rolled her eyes. "You love her… I've known this for years. Even before you two got together. You know… when Snow and I first got together, the two of us didn't work out at first. I thought he was too immature, his responsibilities involved partying… so I dumped him. Later, he came back and he matured. And that was the man I fell in love with… Lightning's changed, don't you think?"

"Haven't really been around her too much." Fang couldn't help but laugh at her ex being tackled into the snow by the child.

"I know about your little 'date' a few days ago."

Fang chuckled, "It wasn't a date."

"Just tell her you love her." Serah walked off, leaving Fang alone.

XXXXXXXX

Lightning waved to her sister and brother-in-law before closing the door. Dajh and Sazh left just moments before Serah and Snow. Her arms quickly wrapped around her own body in an attempt at getting warm. She could still barely feel her fingertips from the two hours she'd spent outside with Dajh. "Surprised you let Vanille leave with Zell…"

The taller woman glared daggers at Lightning. "I can't control her and ya know it." She stood to move closer to her ex. "Thanks for invitin' me over, Lightning."

"It was more Serah's idea," Lightning smirked softly.

"So ya really didn't want me here, huh?"

The detective laughed softly before unconsciously reaching out to push Fang's hair out of her face. "Honestly? I didn't think you'd want to come…"

"And miss one of your rare parties? Never!" A comfortable silence fell between the pair. That was, until Fang stretched and her head tilted up. "Uh, sunshine?" She pointed up at the mistletoe poised perfectly above their heads.

Lightning's eyes followed the direction Fang's finger was pointing before they went wide with shock. "You know… um, we-we don't have to…" She started to step away from her ex. As much as she wanted to, she feared it would be a bad idea. She didn't want to push Fang too much, too fast and end up pushing her away forever.

Fang felt herself chuckle at the irony of the situation. Not even three hours ago she was having a conversation with Serah about her feelings for Lightning. And now… now, a Christmas tradition was about to slap them both in the face. "It's okay, Lightning…" She swallowed the think lump in her throat before gently wrapping her hand around Lightning's wrist to stop her retreat. Fang could tell she was just as scared about what might come from it. She moved her hand lower to stop Lightning's shaking hands.

Lightning bit her lower lip as she glanced down at their now locked fingers. Slowly she brought her other hand up to cup Fang's cheek. She wasn't even this nervous with anticipation the very first time Fang kissed her.

Fang smiled softly at the blush she could see creep onto Lightning's cheeks as she closed the gap between them to press their lips together. She sighed heavily through her nose at the familiar, and very welcomed taste of Lightning's lips on her own. Slowly, she released the detective's hand and moved her own to rest on the smaller woman's waist, effectively pulling their bodies together. When she felt Lightning's arms slide around her waist she carefully tilted her head to the side to deepen the kiss. Her entire body felt as though it was on fire, and she doubted she'd be able to fight it off. It had been too long since she felt Lightning against her, and she needed the woman like she needed air in her lungs.

Lightning knew that she had to pull away from the kiss, but she couldn't. There was something that was making it impossible for her to break it. It's like someone was pushing her head towards Fang and every time she went to pull back, she would just go back in.

Fang slowly pulled away from the kiss but it didn't last long. She'd finally given in to her urges for Lightning. Her eyes never had a chance to open before she leaned back down to capture the detective's lips once more with her own. This time she slowly slid her tongue along Lightning's lower lip, when she felt her ex's tongue brush against hers, the last wall was broken down.

Lightning put up no fight as she felt herself be led blindly down the hallway. She knew where Fang was leading them and couldn't find it in herself to stop it. All of her own resolve was long gone. How could she fight off the woman who tore down all of her walls from the beginning?

What was she doing…?

XXXXXXXX

**So there you have it. I've realized something… I haven't really written back to any of you. I used to do that all the time! But lately I've been sooo tired I just don't have the energy for it.**

**So I'm doing it now.**

**THANK YOU so much for the reviews. It really does keep me going. I appreciate it guys.**

**By the way, peoples... Haruka is coming to Oregon to visit me. If anyone is from Washington (either Seattle, Spokane, ect ect) what should we do? We have to cram a lot of stuff into 9 days. The only thing I really have planned is going to my work that Thursday that she's here so I can pick up my paycheck. Lol.**

**But anyway...**

**As stated above, I'm not happy with this chapter, are you? Also, is there anything I need to work on? Lately my muse has been coming back, slowly but surely.**

**Thanks.**


	13. Everything Changes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **This chapter is based on one of my favorite songs of all time by one of my favorite BANDS of all time. Listen to it! The lyrics and song title are where you'd normally find it. It was a close tie between that and Epiphany. Also, please don't hate me.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212 – She helped edit. :)**

**Also, Fullmetal-Alchemist44 is doing a translation of Lost Then Found. So just incase people go 'omg copier!' Lol. It's gonna be in French.**

Not Over You

Chapter Twelve – Everything Changes

If you just walked away / What could I really say? / Wouldn't matter anyway… / Wouldn't change how I feel / I am the mess you chose / The closet you cannot close / The devil in you I suppose / 'cause the wounds never heal / But everything changes if I could / Turn back the years if you could / Learn to forgive me / Then I could learn to feel… -"_Everything Changes_" by _Staind_

XXXXXXXX

**_Lightning,_**

_**I hate to leave you like this… but waking up next to you was a mistake. What happened last night was a mistake as well. We shouldn't have gone as far as we did. I don't want to lead you on. Listen, what happened last night… it was a mistake, yes, but I don't regret it. I do want to give us another try. Hell, I miss you Lightning. But I fear you haven't changed. You have to prove to me that you've changed.**_

**_I love you, Lightning. I don't want you to blame yourself for this. There's a lot going on in my head right now and there's some days where it's hard to figure it all out. That's what happened last night when we kissed. When we got to your room, I was still okay with it. The minute we hit the bed, naked, I knew we'd gone too far. But… I couldn't stop myself. I needed you – to feel you._**

**_Hopefully this doesn't change things between us Light. I'm glad we're rebuilding our friendship and I want to keep doing it…_**

**_-Fang_**

XXXXXXXX

Have you ever felt like when something amazing happens you're in a dream? But when you wake up and it's not what you expected you feel like your amazing dream turned into a complete nightmare? What about going to bed feeling completely content, but while you're sleeping you feel that contentment just… disappear?

Everything was perfect that night when they made love… or so Lightning thought. The perfect feeling vanished as soon as she'd woken up to empty, cold sheets beside her and a note sitting on the kitchen table.

That night was the best night of her life. She felt Fang's love, in more ways than just touch. It was slow, gentle, _sensual. _It was more than just making love, it was a sign of hope. Hope for them.

Lightning knew she had to change… but she just wondered how much she would have to change before Fang would be with her again. "Hey, Drake?"

Detective Drake looked up from his papers and looked around. "Me?" He pointed to himself.

"I had a question…" She hesitated for a long time, but he was patient. Lightning knew what she wanted to ask but wasn't sure if she could actually spit out the words. Usually conversations like this were reserved for Serah… but she needed an outside opinion. From someone who didn't know Fang.

He placed his pen on the desk before leaning back to look at her, giving her his undivided attention. "Alright, shoot."

"How… would you act if you were used?"

The question took Drake by surprise. He wasn't sure if he was shocked because Lightning asked him a question, or just the simple fact that she started the conversation. "Well… it depends on what the person did to make you feel that way, I suppose."

Lightning sighed, "slept with them then left the next morning."

Drake nearly choked for a moment before knowing he needed to answer. "I would confront that person. I'd wonder why they left and if it was something I did… Is that what happened between you and Fang?" Lightning nodded softly. He looked at her with gentle eyes. "Listen… you need to talk to her. I know you love her and I know she loves you. When I saw her the other day, I saw something in her eyes – the same thing I saw when I saw you looking at her."

"I can't do that. I'm… angry with her, I guess."

"That's understandable, Lightning. But what are you going to do about it? You can't keep this bottled up inside you."

Lightning wanted to drop it. She knew the conversation would escalate. "I'm going to lunch. Do you want anything?"

"Sure. Can you go to the store and get me a sandwich from the Deli? Their sandwiches are to DIE for and my wife thinks I should stay away from that stuff… Might as well slip once. Won't hurt me none."

Lightning chuckled. "Sure… and it's on me."

XXXXXXXX

"Tami, where's that stuff you need me to sign before the big boss gets here? We need that or I'll get my ass chewed."

Fang leaned against the counter as Tami, one of the department managers, looked through her binder of papers. "Hold your ass. Give me a minute."

"Didn't you just have it a few minutes ago?" Fang laughed. "How could you lose it between my office and here?"

"Ya know, Fang… I can't concentrate with you breathing down my neck. I said hold your ass and give me a minute…" She stopped her search for a moment to glare at the assistant manager, and noticed a customer at the other side of the department. "New girl, go help that customer."

The new girl nodded and Fang shook her head and smiled. She turned her head and saw a familiar shade of pink hair. '_Lightning…_'

They hadn't talked since that night they slept together. Fang felt guilty for leaving, yes. But she didn't want to face the consequences. She couldn't face them. That night was perfect. They both whispered reassurances and 'I love yous' to each other. It was never completed with a 'too'. It was a simple 'I love you'. She didn't want to give Lightning false hope, but she knew she did… and it wasn't right.

Lightning's eyes met hers and she shied away quickly. She knew Lightning was upset about what happened. They needed to talk. And she knew it. But that could wait.

"Ah, here we are. Sign. Now," Tami said as she shoved the papers in Fang's chest. "I got stuff to… do… Fang, isn't that Lightning?" Her voice was less sarcastic and more worried. "And why does she look like a wounded puppy?"

"Let me sign this then I'll be in my office. Can ya… see if Lightning'll come up? Can't really approach her here."

Tami rose a single brow and just nodded when Fang handed the papers back to her. "I'll force her up there if I got to."

"Thanks, Tam. I'll see you later."

Fang walked out of the department and walked upstairs, wondering if she was going to regret it. She knew Lightning was upset. But there was something else in her eyes. It was sadness. Fang knew that look Lightning had. It was the same look she had when Fang picked Lightning up after she had the one night stand. Did she regret what they did…?

Why had they done what they did? Why didn't she stop it? Why didn't either of them stop it? There were so many questions floating through Fang's ahead as she tried to make herself appear busy, knowing any moment Lightning would be walking through her office door.

Minutes passed… Lightning never showed. She looked up from her desk and saw Tami standing there. "Sorry… I tried, Fang. I told her that you wanted to see her and she said she had to get back to work or she'd get in trouble."

"It's… fine."

"Is that your ex?" Tami asked, a serious look on her normally playful face. Fang nodded and signed a few papers. "So what happened? I thought you two were working things out."

"We did. But then we did something she… regrets, I guess."

"Like what? Did you sleep with her?"

"Yeah."

"That's a good thing! … Right?"

"Not necessarily."

Tami sat down and crossed her arms and legs. "So what did you do?"

"Who says it was me who did somethin'?" Fang asked defensively.

"Because it's you, Fang. You always do something."

"… That's true… I left her. After. While she was sleeping."

"You did _WHAT_?" Tami yelled. "You and her are perfect for each other. You know it, but yet you go sleep with her and you leave her? Was it a quick 'hey let's fuck' and 'I'm going to leave now, see ya bitch!'?"

"Didn't know what else to do…" Fang looked down, suddenly finding paperwork fun and interesting.

"Um… stay, make her breakfast, watch the sun come up, get some more sweet lady kisses. Anything but leave her!" Tami scoffed. "I can't even imagine the thoughts running through her head right now. She doesn't regret what happened, she regrets what happened AFTER… If you stayed, she would have been in this office and not me."

"I know I messed up, okay?"

"Obviously…" Tami glared at her boss before leaving the office.

Fang let out a heavy sigh. Part of her knew that Lightning wouldn't come up to see her, not after what she'd done. What she knew was… if Lightning wouldn't come to her, she's have to go to Lightning.

XXXXXXXX

Work had been hard when Lightning returned. She hated her job because it was too easy… but after seeing Fang, she couldn't wait until that clock struck four. As soon as it did, she got up and left and went straight home. It was weird, going home at exactly four…

But she needed to focus on fixing things, not with Fang, but with Serah. She had to show Serah that she wasn't going to throw herself into work anymore and that she'd be available to her when needed. Fang though… for all Lightning cared, Fang could fall off a cliff for what she did.

When Fang's co-worker came up to her, telling her that Fang wanted to speak to her, Lightning just laughed in her face bitterly. Why did Fang get her to ask Lightning to go to her office? Why couldn't Fang just ask her herself? Lightning scoffed from her spot on the couch, where she was curled up. If she really wanted to talk, why wasn't she still there when Lightning woke up? Why wasn't she curled up against the detective's body like when they'd fallen asleep?

Lightning couldn't help but wonder if she was better off without Fang…? There was so much pain shared between the two. But thinking back now, she'd never been as happy as the moment she'd finally gotten to know Fang. As soon as the feelings started to develop, Lightning couldn't imagine going a single minute without her.

What was she thinking? She'd been fine before she met Fang. She'd survive. She's a survivor. Sure, Fang made her happy but so did Serah! … Before she got married.

Lightning nearly slammed her cup on the coffee table in anger. "I'm fine without her!" She was trying to convince herself but it was not working.

A knock at her door broke her from her thoughts. She stood up, walked to the front door and opened it.

Her brows furrowed and shut the door after seeing who it was. Another knock, "come on, Lightning," Fang called from outside, "can we talk?"

"Go away."

"You know I'm not going to do that, Lightning."

"Yeah? Well that's a surprise. You know, seeing as how you already did it."

Fang let her head rest against the door with a huff. "I know I fucked up, Light. Just open the door so we can talk."

"Go. Away."

Lightning started to walk away from the door, only to hear it open. "It would have helped if ya locked it first." Lightning stormed off into the kitchen. She knew Fang was behind her. "Light-"

The detective turned around quickly, slamming her hands on the counter. "Get out of my house!"

"Not 'til ya hear me out," Fang begged desperately.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Good!" Fang smirked, "then you'll shut up long enough to listen to me."

"After what you did, there's nothing you can say or do to make it better. Do you really think that anything you say will make up for it? If you tell me you're sorry and I swear to Etro I'll throw you through the fucking wall. If you have nothing else to say just get the hell out."

Fang cringed some at Lightning's language, it wasn't often that the detective swore in such a manner, "I got… scared, Lightning."

That caught Lightning's attention. For a moment, only a split moment, she believed her. "You're never scared, Fang."

"Well, I was. Ya know, I dreamed of this for months. Getting back with you. But when I realized what happened, I… got spooked."

"Oh, so I'm scary now?"

"What? NO! Listen, please… This situation scares me, Light." Fang sighed and leaned against the counter. "I'm scared that we're gonna start fightin' again if we get together. I'm scared that it's going to hurt as bad as it did the first time…"

"That's right, Fang," Lightning scoffed, "because you were the only one that got hurt it in the end."

"I never said ya didn't get hurt too, ya know. But it kinda _was_ your fault."

That made Lightning turn around quickly to look at Fang. "Really? It was… my fault," she wanted it to come out like a question but it didn't. Memories flashed through Lightning's head. The final days of their relationship. Fang was always trying to fix it, but Lightning continued to just push away. "Go… just go."

"I didn't come here to fight with you." Lightning just scoffed. A sound Fang had been used to lately. "Do you regret it?" The detective looked at Fang.

"I wouldn't have if you would have stayed. I was trying to fix us, Fang. I was trying to get you back but then you go and pull that shit."

Again Fang cringed, she hated knowing she was the reason this side of Lightning was showing. "I don't wanna get hurt again."

"I hurt you by not saying I love you as much as I should have. I hurt you by not spending as much time with you as I should have. So instead, you fuck me then leave me. And I thought I told you to leave!"

Fang idly chewed on the inside of her lip as she continued to glare into Lightning's eyes. "Sucks getting' screwed, don't it, sunshine?"

Lightning inhaled sharply through her nose before lifting her hand to strike across Fang's cheek. "You need to get out of my house before you get yourself into trouble." Lightning felt her lower lip tremble, but continued to hold her stone cold expression.

The minute Lightning's hand connected with her cheek, she knew she'd said too much. They both should have learned from the last argument… walk away before you say something you'll regret. But both were just too stubborn to back down from each other, and now Fang feared she may have finally sealed the deal and lost Lightning forever. Without another word… she turned on her heel and made a hasty exit.

**XXXXXXXX**

**Please don't hate me. There's a method to my madness, I swear it! There is a reason I did this… And yes, no update for a month seeing as how FFXIII-2 is coming out for the US on Tuesday.**

**Kiddin, Just kidding!**

**I'm working on the new chapter. Well, I will after work.**

**Now time to go TO work!**


	14. Gone

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **And here you guys thought you wouldn't get an update for a month. ;) FFXIII-2 was awesome. Much better than XIII. Go get it. Lightning's awesome.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212 –**

Not Over You

Chapter Thirteen - Gone

So I'll just hang around / And find some things to do / To take my mind off missing you / And I know in my heart / You can't say that you don't love me too / Please say you do… -"Gone" by _NSYNC_

XXXXXXXX

"We have to do something," Lebreau told her three good friends. "She's brooding. And it's driving me crazy."

Serah nodded and played with her small cup of coffee while Vanille took a sip of her soda. "Fang's been the same. All she does is sleep and work, she hardly ever even eats anymore." The younger Farron sighed and shook her head.

"Lightning's just as bad. It's like they took two steps forward and three steps back. Did you see the way they looked at each other Christmas Day? That was something I hadn't seen for months. Why did Fang have to go and leave like that?"

"It's not Fang's fault, Serah," Vanille defended. "Lightning shouldn't have slapped Fang."

"What even happened?" Snow asked, "Does anybody know? I've obviously been kept out of the loop."

Serah let out a heavy sigh. She knew Lightning had trusted her with the information but hated being the only person to know and unable to talk to anybody. "They slept together on Christmas night after we all left… the next morning, Fang apparently bolted before Lightning woke up."

The table was silent. Lebreau wanted to jump in joy upon hearing they slept together, but her joy turned to anger the moment Serah said that Fang bolted. "She did what now? She bolted? After they had sex?"

"Apparently, yeah…"

"Why would she do something like that?" Vanille's voice rang out. She knew Fang better than Fang knew herself, or so she thought. She knew that the older woman had some issues but never expected her to actually run away from them.

Serah didn't know whether to ignore or just yell at Vanille for defending the woman who hurt her sister – again. "Well it happened. Why would Lightning lie about something like that? She wouldn't slap Fang if it wasn't necessary."

Silence fell over the group of friends as they all allowed the new information to fully sink in. "So, Fang got scared then?" Snow lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head. It was the best he could come up with.

"Guess so," Lebreau started. "But that's no excuse for leaving Lightning. Also, Lightning shouldn't have slapped Fang. That was unnecessary, Serah. I know you love your sister, but each side has three stories. Lightning's, Fang's, and the truth."

"I'm sure Lightning's telling the truth. I'm sure Fang is too, but either way we need to try to fix this. If we don't…" Snow let his voice trail off. He knew that if it didn't get fixed now, it never would.

"If we don't, then we all continue to live through the hell they're putting everybody through," Lebreau stated, leaving minimal room for discussion on that topic.

Vanille huffed, "there's a problem though…" When she saw her friends looking at her, she elaborated, "how?"

XXXXXXXX

The bar was dark and dank. The cigarette smoke cover flooded her senses. She didn't smell anything but the smoke and alcohol. And honestly, she didn't care. Lebreau's bar was full of lesbians. She just had to get an urge for a beer on Lebreau's monthly 'coming out' night…

She'd lost track of how many drinks she had. All she knew was that as long as the bartender kept sliding her new beers, she'd keep drinking them. Just as she lifted a new bottle to her lips, she spotted her walking between the rows of tables.

Should she go and apologize? Her mind was boggled with thoughts of absolute nothingness, and the woman singing karaoke (badly, might she add) wasn't helping. The song _definitely _wasn't helping.

Lightning stood up and walked over to the woman at the other end of the bar. "Can I sit?" Lightning asked. The woman glanced up and nodded. Lightning sat and put her beer down. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Slapping you," the woman rose a brow. "I love you and I was so angry and I was angry and felt used and that's why I was so angry. I wish you woulda have stayed… I thought we were okay 'til you left and made me angry."

"But…"

"Let me finish!" Lightning nearly screamed. The woman looked around and saw the bars patrons looking in their direction. "I love you and I was so angry… I'm so in love with you. So much that it scares me. Yes something actually scares me. That something is you. Everything I feel for you scares me and I don't know how to deal with it all. That's why I lashed out at you like I did. I'm so sorry, I don't regret what we did. I don't regret a moment of it, but I regret that you left and didn't talk to me about it. That was the best night of my life and I'd do anything to get it back."

Lebreau knew she had to call Fang. Lightning was going on and on about how sorry she was.

"But you don't love _me_."

"Yes, I do! Why would you question something like that? I've never loved anybody as much as I love you. I need you, Fang. Oh, how I need you. I don't even know how I function each day without you in my life anymore. I… I don't know how much longer I can keep going on without you."

Lebreau looked over her best friend's shoulder in time to see Snow walking through the front door. Perfect timing. "Listen, Light… You're drunk. You need some help."

"I don't need anything but you," she stumbled over her words.

"I'm not Fang…" Lebreau spoke softly.

"You… you're not?"

Lebreau cracked a sad smile to Lightning. "You're really drunk, Light. You need to go home and sleep all this off."

"But I need to talk to Fang. Do you know where she is?"

Just as Lebreau started to reach for her phone, Snow stepped up to them, "hey, is everything okay?"

"Snow!" Lightning called out to him. He flinched back, expecting the worst. "Do you know where Fang is?"

Snow looked at his sister-in-law with a mixture of fear and confusion. Sure, he'd seen Lightning drunk before, but it never got to the point where she was being friendly to him. "She's probably sleeping."

Lightning frowned. "But I have to tell her how much I love her."

The detective's rant was quickly drowned out when Lebreau started talking. "Listen, Snow… Could you take her home. Get her to bed. You know the drill. I can't leave right now. We're too busy in here and I'm lucky I'm even on break."

He glanced between Lebreau and Lightning, who was now talking to herself quietly. "Do you want me to die?"

"She's drunk. You know how her coordination gets. She yells at you, just push her some. She'll topple over like a one legged chocobo. Thanks Snow!" Lebreau quickly walked off, leaving Snow with drunk Lightning.

"Oh Etro… I'm gonna die."

XXXXXXXX

Snow wrapped his arms around his sister-in-law as he helped her out of the car. The snow was melting, finally, but the water had turned to ice and caused the walkway to be extremely slick. He stumbled a couple of times and it didn't help that Lightning was very drunk. "Oops!" Lightning said loudly as she knocked over the landlords garden gnome.

"Light, be quiet. It's past midnight. You'll wake everyone up," Snow scolded. '_You just had to move to the quiet side of Bodhum, didn't ya sis?'_ He chuckled and helped her up the stairs, or tried to anyway. Lightning slipped on the stairs but Snow picked her up and put her over his shoulder.

"Oohh! Easy ride!"

'_I'm going to die in the morning…_' Snow gulped and reached into his pocket, pulling out Lightning's keys. "Come on, Lightning. Stop squirmin' and screamin' like that… the neighbors are gonna get the wrong idea."

"Get the wrong idea? About what? Me… with you?" She suddenly burst into laughter at the thought. "Not in your wildest dreams!"

Snow whispered a soft prayer directed to Etro herself before pushing open the door and carrying the detective into her own apartment. "You stay put and be quiet." He told her as soon as he placed her on the sofa.

He sighed while walking into the kitchen. It was going to be a long night and he knew this. He could hear Lightning's mumblings. The only time she had shut up about the apology was when Snow was 'escorting' her to her apartment. He pulled out his phone and called a friend.

"_You do realize it's past midnight, right?" _Fang mumbled into the phone.

"You need to hear this… She's been repeating the same thing over and over again," Snow whispered, grabbing a bottle of water. He walked into the living room and put the phone down on the coffee table. "Here, Light. Drink this."

"I don't wanna drink! I want Fang! How many times do I have to tell you that I need her? I need her so bad that it hurts me inside. I don't even know how to go through each of my days without even hearing her voice. Just seeing her again would be amazing, even in passing. I need her like the air in my lungs, Snow! Why can't any of you see that?"

Snow could just imagine the thoughts running through Fang's mind. He just hoped he'd live in the morning.

"_Why the hell did ya call me to listen to her?"_ Fang's voice came loudly from the phone on the coffee table.

"Because we're all tired of this and you need to hear it! I'm sick of you two being like this. It's killing Serah AND Vanille. We need you to fix it!"

Lightning gasped. "Is that Fang?" She reached for the phone, but Snow pulled it out of her hands before she put it to her ear. "Can I talk to her? I wanted to talk to her for weeks! Please, please, please let me talk to her. I need to tell her how sorry I am!"

"_Is she drunk?_" Fang asked. Snow's silence was her answer. "_You know, she promised she'd changed. And I guess she didn't. Goodnight, Snow."_

"Wait! You know how she is when she's drunk, Fang. She can't lie. Even if she tries to, she just can't do it."

"_Don't care, Snow. Need to be up in five hours."_ With that, Fang hung up.

"Fang's gone…" Lightning's eyes welled up with tears. "Gone… for… forever," she hiccupped.

"Oh… oh! Don't cry! Come on, Light. Don't cry, please…" Her shoulders started to shake.

"I lost her, Snow… I messed up. Again…"

"You didn't lose her."

"Yes, I did!" Lightning wiped a tear. "You really are that stupid, aren't you?"

Snow scoffed. "You didn't… I know she loves you. You just need to get your life straightened out. You're too defensive. It's getting the best of you." And Lightning cried. Snow hated it when women cried. He wrapped his arms around Lightning, who just gripped his trench coat. "It's okay, Light. It'll be okay."

At least he hoped it would.

XXXXXXXX

Who could go back to sleep after that kind of phone call? Listening to your ex pour her heart out… her drunken heart out, does a lot to a person. The only thing that lingered in Fang's mind was that Lightning was drunk. Things were right back where they'd started… with Lightning drunk. That was most of the original problem for Fang. Sure, there was nothing wrong with a few social drinks, but the detective drank after nearly every shift.

Fang was at a loss for what to really do. She knew that Snow had said about Lightning not being able to lie when she was drunk. Not even if she tried. She knew it was true. Lightning didn't know how to lie when there was alcohol involved. She never imagined she'd ever hear such a heartfelt apology from her ex girlfriend. She wanted to believe it but how could she? How could she believe words that couldn't be spoken when sober?

After sighing in frustration, she threw back the blankets and sat up in bed. There was no point in even attempting to sleep anymore now. She was wide awake, and her rampant thoughts wouldn't allow her a moments rest. Her eyes dared to look at the clock. At least she'd been able to get three hours of sleep before the horrible wake up call.

If Lightning couldn't lie when drunk, then that meant everything she was honest. She _did_ feel bad for everything. She _did_ love Fang. She _did_ want to make things better… Fang knew, in the back of her mind, that she was in the wrong. She should never have, in a million years, said what she said to Lightning. '_This is turnin' out to be a bloody soap opera._'

She made her way into the kitchen, trying her hardest to remain quiet so she didn't wake Vanille. The last thing she needed was handling a million questions at a quarter past one in the morning. How would she be able to answer Vanille's questions when she couldn't even answer the ones running through her own head?

After starting a pot of coffee, Fang allowed her forehead to rest against the cabinet right above the machine. She knew she'd have to drink a lot of coffee in order to survive her day. With limited sleep, and nothing but thoughts about Lightning, it was going to make for a very long day for her.

What if she gave Lightning another chance? Things would probably go right back to the way they were before. Fang knew that deep down inside, the detective hadn't changed any. The drunken confession just proved that to her. Things between her and Lightning would be fine for a few weeks, possibly a few months, then Lightning would go right back to insisting that everything was her responsibility, and belittling her job. A job she actually enjoyed.

Sure, Fang's job wasn't a high profile one like Lightning's, but at least it was safe. The odds of Fang being blown up at work were as high as Snow earning a doctorate. Fang chuckled humorlessly at her own thoughts.

Fang poured herself a coffee and walked into the living room. She curled up on the couch and nursed her warm coffee. She didn't risk turning the heater on because she knew it would wake up Vanille. She couldn't risk the questions.

'_What was Lightnin' thinkin'?'_ Fang asked herself. She rubbed her temples and laid her head on the back of the couch. She didn't know what to do. Something in the bottom of her heart was telling her that she should forgive and forget. But her head was telling her to just ignore it all and continue living her life as she was…

Lightning free.

XXXXXXXX

**So what did you guys think of this chapter? And has anyone played FFXIII-2? :)**


	15. Author's Note, Forgive me!

**Author's Note: Oh my God. I'm so sorry guys. Work's been busy. I'm getting 40 hours a week working from 5:30AM-2PM or 6AM-2:30PM. I'm just so tired when I get home I can't write anything. Plus I have writers block bad.**

**Haruka and I recently took a little trip to Portland together (yay!) and we had a good time. I actually felt SOME inspiration come to me so hopefully you'll get a chapter by the end of the month. I'm sorry, guys. I just don't know why I haven't been able to write.**

**I'm going to reread Not Over You and watch FFXIII cutscenes and hopefully I'll have a chapter out before you know it.**

**The story is coming to an end but I will continue to post. They'll only be short oneshots but it's something right?**

**Again, I'm sorry. Forgive me? :(**

**Capri**


	16. Let You Go

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **Hey guys, just have a few words for you. I'm really not liking this sequel. I just don't think it's being written as well as I had it in my mind. I'm going to rewrite LTF and NOY. It's not going to happen anytime soon but I just thought I'd let you know.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212**

Not Over You

Chapter Fourteen – Maybe You're My Wonderwall

I will love you 'til the end of time / Even though I know that you're not mine / Just as long as there's a change that I / Guess I never will be over you – _"Over You" by Anne Murray_

XXXXXXXX

It was hard to focus on the task at hand. Schedule making was definitely Fang's least favorite activity. This person can't work nights, but that person can only work certain days of the week. It was enough to give her a headache each and every week. If it wasn't frustrating enough on its own s he had a stack of forms sitting on the corner of her desk. It was almost as if they were taunting her.

Transferring was something Fang would have never thought of a year prior. She loved it in Bodhum. She loved her life there. Now, now it was like she was walking through a haze each and every day. All because of Lightning. That phone call the night before told Fang two things.

One, Lightning still loved her.

And two, Lightning would never change. She was still a drunken fool.

Fang scoffed and let her hands grab the papers on the corner of the desk. Her eyes skimmed the first three lines. She never managed to make it past those lines without her head telling her to stay. She needed to stay…

**TRANSFER REQUEST FOR:**

**Oerba Yun Fang, Asst. Manager**

**Manager needed in…**

She wasn't sure why, but something was keeping her in Bodhum. She needed to stay. Her friends were here – her family. But the thought did cross her mind. If she transferred, she'd get her head back together. They wouldn't have sent the store those papers if they didn't think she could do the job. "Damn it…"

She put the papers back down on the desk and continued to type out the schedule for the following week. But she couldn't concentrate. Yes, there was something in her mind telling her to stay, but there was another, equally as powerful force telling her to go. Leaving would help her to completely clear her mind. She'd no longer have to worry about random Lightning sightings, or even drunken phone calls. She'd be able to forget about the woman who broke her heart.

"Why am I even thinkin' about this so much?" She muttered to herself before sliding the papers in front of her to actually read them.

XXXXXXXX

Someone was shoving a melting pipe in her head. Or, at least it felt like it. Why'd her head hurt so much? She managed to pull the covers off of her and roll herself out of bed. She sat herself on the edge of the bed for several minutes, trying to curb her sudden need to vomit. Once that was under control, she began to replay the night before, but nothing was coming to her. She had absolutely no recollection of how she got in bed, or even drinking at all. "What the hell happened?"

She stood up on wobbly legs and walked towards the bedroom door. Her head wouldn't stop pounding something fierce. What had been a simple drink after work turned out to be bathing in a sea of alcohol. The question that had been in her mind was 'how did it get so bad?'. It was the theme of her life story over the last few months. And she had yet to figure it out.

Her shaky hands gripped the doorknob weakly and turned the knob. The sudden aroma of freshly brewed coffee and eggs. Eggs and hangovers don't mix. Who was the idiot in her kitchen? She used the wall to keep her balance as she turned the corner into her kitchen to see who the 'intruder' was.

Snow.

"What are you doing here?"

Snow turned around from his spot at the stove, spatula in hand and a 'Kiss The Cook' apron barely covering his chest. "Mornin' to you too."

Lightning cringed as he poured his coffee. "Why are you in my apron?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm cooking you breakfast," He rolled his eyes as he placed the cup down in front of her. Lightning muttered a quiet thanks as she accepted the coffee. "How are you feeling?"

"When did you learn to cook…?" She asked softly.

"I've cooked for a while, just had to wait until you were unconscious in order to use your kitchen. You never let me use it," He smiled as he scrambled the eggs. "You didn't answer my question. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a dreadnaught."

"Can't imagine why with as much booze as you drank last night." He turned to her with a softer expression on his face. "Do you even remember last night?"

Lightning thought back on the night before. Honestly, she hoped it was a dream. A nightmare. Why was it that whenever she drank, she made a complete fool of herself? "Barely," was her reply. He grabbed a plate and poured the eggs on it.

"You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry, Snow."

"Don't really care, sis. Someone needs to help you nurse this hangover and Serah's not around, neither is Fang." He put the plate on the table near Lightning's coffee before serving himself some and taking a seat. "What do you remember? I'll fill in the blanks."

She proceeded to tell him everything she remembered. She started at the beginning, when she recalled going to the bar after work for a few drinks. After the fifth or sixth drink though, everything from her memory had started to become fuzzy. But as she thought, the memories came back to her. Little by little. As though she was reliving it. "Oh…"

Snow chuckled. "Yeah, 'oh'."

"Last night did NOT happen, Snow."

"I know it didn't. Already got that covered. No need to beat me senseless," he smiled sadly. "Listen, Lightning. We're all worried about you. You're not yourself and we know why. Serah and Vanille are planning an intervention with the two of you and I'm trying to stop that. You miss Fang. We get that… You need to prove to her that you're back to _you_ again."

"How am I supposed to do that?" She snapped at him. It was an action she instantly regretted as a heavy throb shot through her head.

Snow took advantage of it and continued, "You're a wreck, Lightning. You need to go talk to her. She's at work right now. I'll even drive you."

"No. I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"She won't want to see me… not after last night."

He just smirked at her, "That's where you're wrong, Light. She does want to see you. You just gotta make the effort." She just scoffed in his direction before making her way back into the living room. Ignoring the problem was always her first choice, it was easier that way. "Stop avoiding the issue, Lightning. It's making everyone, including yourself, miserable."

Lightning stopped and turned towards him. "And what makes you the 'expert' on all of this? Do you even know what the REAL issue is?" He looked at her, confusion on his face. "Everyone butting into my business."

"We do it because we care for you, Lightning. Believe it or not, I do care for you. You just need to get that stick and pull it out of your ass and go talk to Fang."

Lightning sighed and looked down, closing her eyes. It was going to be a long day.

XXXXXXXX

Fang extended a few greetings to her co-workers as she re-entered the store from her lunch break. She had already planned on spending the next hour finishing up the schedule and filling out her transfer papers.

"Someone just went up to your office," Tami told her as she walked by.

The Pulsian frowned. "I thought I said nobody was to be in there unless I was there."

"She was… rather persuasive."

"Great. Thanks," Fang started walking up the stairs and walked into her office. She stopped in her tracks at the familiar sight of pink hair. "Lightning."

"Hi…" Lightning looked at the floor like she was ashamed. "Can we talk?"

"Suppose you didn't give me much of an option here…" Fang made her way to her desk and took her chair, her eyes never leaving her ex.

Lightning took the chair across from her and looked at her with tired eyes. "I'm sorry about last night."

"What exactly are you sorry for?" Fang leaned back in her chair.

A few moments passed as Lightning tried to regain all of her thoughts. Most of her time had been spent thinking of the things she would say to Fang once they were face to face. But not, nothing was coming to her. "Everything." She finally spat out.

Fang snorted softly. "That doesn't narrow it down much ya know."

"I wanted to talk about what happened between us. I'm sorry I said what I said. If I could go back, I would. I was just…" Lightning tried to hold her tears back. "Do you regret that night?"

Fang thought for a minute. Honestly, the only thing she regretted was running away the following morning. She'd missed being so close to Lightning, but she knew she couldn't let herself seem weak by admitting so. If Lightning really has changed, she needed to prove it. "No. I don't."

"Then why did you leave?"

"I don't know," Fang admitted with slight guilt. "And I'm sorry for leaving you."

"We've all done things we wish we could change…" Lightning took a deep breath, talking about what was going on in her head was never a strong point for her. She knew though, that if she wanted to fix things with Fang she'd had to learn. "I wish I could change how I treated you when we were together… I wish I could change how last night happened."

The Detective bringing up the previous night caught Fang's attention. "What do you mean?"

"Everything I said, I wanted to tell you sober Fang. I didn't want it to come out the way it did and I'm sorry for that."

"It just showed me ya haven't changed. Ya still reach for your bottle when things get rough."

"It's the easiest way out…" Lightning admitted softly. "It makes me forget all this pain…"

Fang only watched her. Seeing Lightning pour her heart out, even if it was in pieces, was a shock to her system. She wasn't used to hearing Lightning actually admit to things on her mind. While she did understand the need to forget the pain, she couldn't quite wrap her head around Lightning's excessive need for alcohol to drown her problems. "But it only creates more problems Light, can't you see that?"

"I do see that. Fang, I don't know what else to do! I've tried everything I know."

"Just try bein' yourself." That small remark left the room silent.

Lightning glanced down to the floor to think about what Fang said. When they were together and she was herself, everything was perfect. Then she made an attempt to be more protective and nurturing and it just shot everything to hell. Her eyes started to dart around the room, her mind wandering the entire time. That was… until she spotted some papers on the desk. "Transfer request…? You're transferring?" She couldn't tear her eyes away from the papers. "You…"

Fang could see the pain and anguish in Lightning's eyes. She'd seen Lightning sad and upset before but this was something she'd never seen before. "It's easier this way, Light."

"So you… You're going to just up and leave everyone. Does anybody even know?"

"… You."

Lightning let out what sounded like a scoff mixed in with tears. "Right."

Fang's eyes remained on Lightning as silence fell between the pair. She could feel her heart breaking with every small shake of the Detective's shoulders. Lightning was crying, and she knew she was the reason for it. Lightning didn't deserve it… Any of it. Maybe Lightning was only doing what was right all those months back before the downfall… but Lightning went a little too far with it. Fang promised Lightning she would never hurt her. And this was _killing_ her. "Lightning," Fang took a step towards Lightning but the Detective took a step back.

"Don't…" Lightning's hand shot up to keep Fang back. "It's obvious what you want, Fang… Coming here was just a waste of my time." She started towards the door but Fang took another step.

"Just hear me out, Light." Lightning stopped to turn to her ex with tear filled eyes. "I'm sorry, alright? You wanted to talk…"

"Yeah," Lightning cracked. "I did. But then I see that and… I wonder if it'll even be worth it, Fang."

Lightning had a point. Fang had been thinking long and hard about the transfer to the store up in Nautilus and already had her mind on doing it. She needed it. She needed to get away. If she didn't, she'd lose her mind in Bodhum.

Lightning continued after the pause from Fang. "It won't be because… you're just as stubborn and determined as I am and I know that you'll go… you'll leave forever."

"I haven't actually decided on it yet." She hated lying, but she didn't want Lightning to know the full truth yet. "It's just somethin' I've been thinking about."

"Do you want to go…?"

She couldn't lie. Especially to Lightning. "Yeah. I do."

"Then go…" Lightning was going to set her free. She was going to let her go. It would be best, in Lightning mind, for Fang to go. They would have their time apart and maybe fate would put them back together in the future. "Just go, Fang." The last part came out choked. She had tried to hold it in but Lightning couldn't keep it in. The tears finally came down. "I'm sorry about how I've been. You've seen me at worse and you always accepted me. Yeah, you've been mad but was me working too much really as bad as what I did before?" She was getting angry and Fang knew it.

Fang reached out to grab Lightning's hand, something inside of her needed that last chance of contact. It was what she never wanted to forget. "I'll be leaving by the end of next week…"

Lightning shook her head as she pulled away from the touch. "Stop, I don't want to know." She carefully wiped at her eyes before turning to leave the room without another word.

"I'll miss you…" The Pulsian whispered once the door was closed.

**XXXXXXXX**

**So what did you guys think? How would you like the story to end? Two or three more chapters and the story will end. It can either be a happy ending or a sad ending or a 'middle' ending. Your choice.**


	17. Last Goodbye

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **Oh my God, you guys are freakin' awesome. 30+ reviews in less than a week. That's a record for me. You guys freakin' rock. It also helped me get this written real quick. So enjoy the chapter and hopefully the next one will come out just as quick.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212 –**

Not Over You  
>Chapter Fifteen – Last Goodbye<p>

This is our last goodbye / I hate to feel the love between us die / But it's over / Just hear this and then I'll go… / You gave me more to live for / More than you'll ever know / This is our last embrace / Must I dream and always see your face? / Why can't we overcome this and more? / Baby, maybe it's 'cause you didn't know me at all / Kiss me, please, kiss me – _"Last Goodbye" by Jeff Buckley_

XXXXXXXX

Hours had passed since leaving Fang's store and Lightning had yet to figure out why tears didn't shed. She didn't feel anything. She let her feelings known in that office space of Fang's. If she could go back in time, she'd make it so she would have never gone to see her. It was a complete mistake. She never should have listened to Snow and allowed him to drag her there. She hated that Fang wanted her to change… Fang was the one who caused her to change.

Why did Fang want her to change? She never asked anything of Fang and Fang wanted her to change… Why?

Upon returning to her apartment, she noticed Snow had left and cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. It was nice of him. Lightning, at the time, actually chuckled at his antics. He… tried so hard to make Lightning like him. And, though she'd never admit it, she kind of did. He wasn't that bad of a person. He was still an idiot, but he did his best to provide and take care of his family. And no matter how much Lightning hated to admit it, she was his family. That meant that he took care of her too.

"Lightning," Lebreau popped around the corner with popcorn in one hand and a soda in the other.

Lightning jumped and put a hand to her chest. "Fuck, Lebreau! What the fuck?"

"Sorry. Scare you? Damn, Officer. You need to get back in the field. You're too jumpy. Come watch TV with me."

"And why exactly would I do that?" Lightning asked with her arms across her chest, leaning against the wall.

"Because it's the friendly thing to do. Now move your ass," Lebreau walked past Lightning and plopped herself down on the couch.

"Why are you here, Lebreau?" Lightning asked as she took the soda from her 'friend' and opened it.

"Just wanted to see how you are doing. How's the hangover treatin' you?" The woman asked as she shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

"You're such a pig…" Lightning mumbled under her breath. "I'm fine."

"So where were you? I came by an hour ago and had to break through your window to get in."

"Why does it ma… wait," Lightning turned to face her friend, "you broke into my home?"

Lebreau shrugged her shoulders. To her, it wasn't really a big deal. It wasn't the first time she'd found a way into Lightning's home, and she doubted it would be the last. "So? It's not the first time I've done it. And I must say, I love how you answered my question with another question. Where were you?"

Lightning knew Lebreau would continue to poke and prod at her. "I went to see Fang." Her voice was barely above a whisper. She hated admitting it out loud, it wasn't something she was especially fond of doing.

Lebreau's ears perked up at the answer. "Really?" Now she was _really_ interested.

"Yeah… She's going to transfer," Lightning said, trying to not let her emotion show. It was Fang's decision. She was going to let her go.

"She's gonna what?" Lebreau's voice was laced with anger at discovering the news. "What the hell is she thinking?"

"It's her decision, Lebreau. I'm not going to force her to stay," Lightning mumbled the last bit. As much as she wanted Fang to stay, she knew Fang needed to get away. It was better in the end. Or, at least that's what she continued to tell herself. Fang moving away meant it would eliminate any chance for stray encounters. Stray encounters would hurt even more than not seeing each other at all. She wasn't sure if that's what Fang had been thinking with wanting to move away, but that's what Lightning continued to tell herself to ease the pain she felt in her chest.

"You might not, but I will. She think running is going to solve everything or something?"

"Lebreau…" Lightning tried to defend, but Lebreau quickly interrupted.

"So you want her to go then?" Lebreau felt herself getting upset on her friends behalf. "Be honest. Do you REALLY want her to go?" There was a pregnant pause, causing the bartender to continue. "Do you love her?"

"Of course I do. But it's what she wants."

"This isn't what she wants, Lightning. She's waiting for you. You're just too thick skulled to see it," Lebreau turned towards her friend. "You're a fool. I love you, Lightning, but you're a fool. You're allowing the love of your life to leave. Possibly forever. Why are you letting yourself die inside like this?"

Lightning scoffed. "I'm not letting myself 'die inside'. You've been watching too many of those soap operas, Lebreau…"

"True, but that isn't the point. The point is you giving up on her. Did you ever think about the pain you have caused her? You love her, she loves you, fix it," Lebreau demanded. "When you and I were together, we were happy. The only difference is, I knew you loved someone else. I still have that little spot in my heart for you. I know what you're going through. It was hard for me to let you go, Lightning. I can't let you do that to yourself. It hurts too much. Trust me, I know." Lightning frowned as Lebreau confessed. She didn't know it was that hard. "I'm over it, yes. But it's also been a few years. You're going to become a wreck in two years if you let this consume you," the bartender finished.

"It won't consume me," Lightning answered. She knew it was a lie, and knew that Lebreau knew it too. "It won't."

"It already has," Lebreau declared. "It's already consumed you. I know you, Lightning. You are an excellent sister. And probably the best girlfriend I've had."

"You've had two."

"Exactly my point," Lebreau smiled. "Anyway, you deserve better than being alone. I know you think it's best that way, but it's really not."

Lebreau did have a point. Lightning wanted to tell herself it was for the best, but deep down she knew it wasn't.

But she had to let Fang go.

XXXXXXXX

The store had been unusually quiet. The customers had left by noon and only a few stragglers came in after. She had let a few people leave early and the remaining just cleaned up and stocked the shelves. The store manager and her had been in their office, typing away at their computer.

She hated being upstairs. When she had been the supervisor, she had been downstairs on the sales floor working her tail off, but now, it had been too boring for her. She had, however, been proud of herself. Four years in the retail profession and she had already gotten up to the Assistant Manager position and now, she was staring at a few papers asking her to become the store manager in a store across the country. She could give her sister, Vanille, anything she wanted.

She always wanted to make Vanille proud. Vanille went to college and was working on her degree. Fang never went to college. She was never good in school. She had street smarts, not book smarts…

"Fang? Can I come in?" Fang glanced up and saw Lebreau standing at the door. She looked towards her boss and he nodded his head and stood up.

"I'll be downstairs," He smiled and walked out of the office.

Lebreau stepped in the office, shutting the door behind her. Fang could feel the anger coming from the woman. "What can I do for…" Before Fang could even finish her statement, Lebreau slammed her hands down on her desk, effectively cutting her off.

"What the hell are you thinking? You really think that running away will solve everything? I never knew you to be a coward, Fang."

"Excuse me?"

Fang liked Lebreau, yes. If Lightning had never been a factor between them, she felt as though Lebreau could have been one of her best friends. But... since they'd both dated Lightning, things were just awkward between them.

"Oh, don't give me that. You know Lightning tells me everything… with a little encouragement, but she does. You know what I'm talking about Fang. Transferring? Why can't you grow a pair and tell Lightning how you really feel," Lebreau crossed her arms and Fang knew that look.

Lebreau and Fang got along for the Farron sisters sake, but they didn't get along because of Lightning. "It's my decision, Lebreau. And I'm going."

"You're a fool. I told Lightning the same thing, you know? You two love each other. I hate to say it, but you do and I really want you two to get your act together."

"Listen here, I don't know who you think ya are, but ya can't come bargin' into my office, yelling at me like this." Fang stood up from her hair to look Lebreau straight in the eyes. "This is my decision to leave. We all k now it's for the best." It really wasn't, but Fang didn't… couldn't let that show. She knew Lebreau was right. She still loved Lightning, and Lightning still loved her. "Besides, she'll never change, we both know that."

"She will change, Fang. She just needs your help. And don't come at me acting all 'high and mighty' like that. It might be your office, yeah. But you should know me by now. I really don't care. The only thing I care about is Lightning. She's my best friend and you're wrecking her. Do you know how happy she was when you two were together?" Lebreau asked. "She was a different person than she was when she was with me. She was happier. You two belong… oh sorry, belonged together," she corrected.

"That's just it, Lebreau, belonged… past tense, over and done with. Now, I'd appreciate it if ya left. I've got work to do."

"Fine," Lebreau opened the door but turned around to look at Fang. "Just know that she's broken, Fang…" The bartender's voice cracked. "When she was drunk, she mistook me for you, she poured her heart out, basically begging for your forgiveness. She wants to change Fang, but she can't do it alone. If only you would actually give her a chance." Lebreau sighed at the emotionless look Fang was currently giving her. At least reconsider your transfer… for Lightning's sake. And if you still decide to leave, at least visit her one last time."

And with that, Lebreau was gone.

Fang leaned back in her chair before rubbing her hands over her face angrily. It wasn't so much the fact that Lebreau insulted her, on many different levels that had her frustrated. Fang was frustrated with herself, because no matter how much she tried to deny it, she knew deep down that Lebreau was right

Everything that Lebreau spoke was true. Fang knew all along that Lightning couldn't overcome things on her own. No matter how stone cold the detective seemed, she still needed that shoulder to lean on, or more recently, to cry on.

Fang really had some thinking to do.

XXXXXXXX

The last thing she wanted was to be alone. Especially on a Friday evening. Vanille was busy studying for the last of her exams so she was out of the question. Snow was working an evening shift, so he was out all night. The last person she had was Lightning. She knew her sister would be home. Well, she'd hoped her sister would be home and not out drinking like she'd been doing a lot of lately. All because of Fang, her stupid ex that for all Serah cared could jump off a cliff into a pack of wild behemoths.

Yeah, sure, she liked Fang at first, but that was before she broke her only sister's heart.

'_And break it she did…_' Serah thought as she observed Lightning snuggled on the couch. "Light?" She'd been crying, that much was certain.

The detective sat up quickly and wiped at her eyes. "Serah… what are you doing here?"

"I don't like being by myself at night… you know that. What's wrong, sis?" Serah walked towards the couch and sat next to her sister, close enough so their arms touch. "And don't tell me 'nothing' because I know you're lying."

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." It was automatic. 'Nothing's wrong' was the answer to everything. Everytime someone asked if she was alright, it was in her nature to lie and say yes. Lightning never liked people to fuss over her.

"Didn't I just tell you not to lie? Why are you crying?"

Lightning wanted to lie again, perhaps tell Serah she just finished cutting onions for a salad she ate for dinner. She knew though, that it wouldn't work. Her sister always saw right through lies. "Fang…" She wasn't able to get much past her ex lover's name before turning her head away and taking several deep breaths in attempt to force back her tears.

When Lebreau left the home, Lightning had done a lot of thinking. She caused this. She caused Fang to leave…

"Fang's leaving."

Serah really didn't think anything about what her sister had said. "Claire… Fang left a while ago…"

"Not that kind of leaving Serah… Leaving as in far away. She's leaving town."

"What do you mean?"

"She's transferring. I went to go talk to her earlier and I saw the papers on her desk. She told me she was leaving."

Serah sat there for a few moments, simply absorbing what her sister had just told her. Fang was leaving. Serah, in a saw, saw that as a good thing. "Well, not maybe you can forget her and finally move on with your life."

"I… don't want to. I need to fix things."

Serah could tell Lightning was in denial. Yeah, sure. Lightning and Fang are… WERE perfect for each other and Lightning screwed that up, but she hated what it was doing to her sister. Serah let out a heavy breath before wrapping her arms tightly around her sister. "You have to let go Light. She has…" She whispered the last part, mostly to herself.

Lightning tightened the hug on her sister. She needed the comfort and she knew she needed to let go. Serah was right… Fang had let go. Maybe she should too.

**XXXXXXXX**

**Hope you guys enjoyed. Have a good weekend and I'll see you guys in a few weeks.**


	18. Not Over You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **So here it is. The end of the story. I hope you guys enjoy it.

**Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212 –**

Not Over You

Chapter Sixteen – Not Over You

You know that I love you so / I love you enough to let you go / I want you to know / That it doesn't matter / Someone's gotta go / And I want you to k now / You couldn't have loved me better / But I want you to move on… – _"Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson_

XXXXXXXX

Lightning did what she could to take her mind off of Fang's upcoming move. She woke up, went to work, then came home. She didn't make any pit stops to the bar, which was an accomplishment in itself for her. She felt herself getting better as the days went on. She found herself crying less and laughing more when her sister came over with her husband, Snow (surprisingly).

Serah was proud of her. She was finally taking her advice. She was finally letting Fang go. It was time for them to move on and Serah knew it was only a matter of time before the two finally talked it out like civilized adults. She knew there was too much of a history between them to be able to forget about one another. "Lightning, where's your baking soda?" Serah called from the kitchen.

"I don't know," Lightning shrugged as she reached for the remote on the couch. "I don't use it. I don't even know if I have any."

"Of course you don't…" Serah smiled as she continued her search. "Everybody's got baking soda somewhere. It's like a law or something." She pulled open a cabinet above the sink as she continued looking.

Lightning flipped through the channels lamely. She hated days off. They were boring. She'd much rather be at work filling out papers than sitting on her butt at home. She was, however, thankful that Serah had come by for a few hours. Serah had always taken her mind off things, the bad things. And her sister knew it. She knew that Serah knew. And that's why Serah was there.

"When was the last time I even baked something, Serah? You know I don't like anything to do with a kitchen," Lightning commented.

"You'd much rather order out at that nasty restaurant on the corner than have a nice home cooked meal... and the last time you baked something was when you tried to make a cake for my birthday," Serah said laughing. "That was a complete mess."

Lightning laughed along, until she remembered the food fight with Fang. It was moments like that, that made her life worth something. But when she looked in the kitchen, staring at her baby sister, she had something new to fight for. "Serah, do you remember when I told you that I joined the force?"

"Of course I do! I wanted to pull your gun out of your holster and shoot you myself," Serah giggled as she peaked her head around the corner. "But in the end, I realized how proud I was of you. You've overcome so much and I'm proud to call you my big sis."

"Wait, were you ever NOT proud of me?"

Serah giggled again and walked out of the kitchen, plopping down next to Lightning. "When you went undercover as a stripper to catch a criminal, yes. I thought you dropped your day job and went for… that one."

Lightning shivered, "I remember that… Fang came in to the strip club that night. Of course it had to be THAT night."

Serah laughed loudly. "You were so embarrassed when she figured out it was you. It was adorable."

"Oh shut up, you. That was not my proudest moment," Lightning groaned as she remembered every excruciating detail of that undercover job.

"You never did tell me about that by the way… I only know bits and pieces."

"And that's all you're ever going to know."

"How did you do it? You know… just to… bare all of yourself like that?" Serah pondered.

"Don't ask."

"But-"

"Really. Don't ask," Lightning tried to shrug the embarrassing memory off. It was one reason Fang called her 'Sunshine'. It wasn't something like 'hun' or 'darling'. 'Sunshine' was a way to poke fun at her.

"Oh, you're no fun," Serah pouted. "I just wanted to know, you never hide stuff from me."

"Some things are better left unsaid, Serah. Trust me, the only thing I enjoyed about that was taking that prick down.

Serah just shook her head and laid on the couch, her head on Lightning's lap. "Snow's taking another shift tonight, can I stay here?"

"You don't have to ask, you know that."

"Well it doesn't hurt to make sure. I don't want to impose on your 'Lightning self loathing' time."

Lightning didn't say anything. She knew Serah was right. She was just thankful Serah was there to distract her…

XXXXXXXX

"Why can't I go with you?" Vanille asked from her spot in the hallway. "I'll be good, I promise!"

Fang laughed. She sounded like a little kid. "You have school, Vanille. I'll call every day. I swear. You're going to stay with Lebreau 'til I get back."

"When are you coming back?" A tear fell from Vanille's eyes.

"Within the year. It's only temporary. Unless things work out, then I'm going to stay…"

"What am I supposed to do without you?" Vanille bit her trembling lower lip in an attempt to fight off her tears. Fang wasn't leaving for a few days yet and she already felt like she was losing her. She could only imagine what it would be like the day Fang did actually leave.

Fang sighed heavily before turning to face her sister. She placed both hands on Vanille's shoulders before speaking. "You're going to continue goin' to school and getting' your degree. You're not some little kid anymore, Van… ya can't always rely on me ya know."

"I know. It's just… we've been together for years. It's gonna be hard just watching you walk away like that."

"It's not like I'm leavin' ya forever. Sheesh… It's gonna be hard, yeah, but we can make it through. Besides, there's always holidays, ya know." Fang pulled Vanille in for a tight hug before letting her go and moving back toward her own room. Saying bye to Vanille was probably the hardest part about her decision to move in the first place. "You're gonna be fine, Van. I'll visit, I promise. But until then, I have to pack some things up and you got homework to do. I'll call you when I go to get dinner."

"I wanna go with you!" Vanille folded her arms over her chest before glaring at Fang.

"I just told ya… yout have to stay here and finish school."

"I meant, I wanna go with you to get dinner…"

Fang's heart broke at the younger woman's tone of voice. The sadness was evident in her desperation to spend more time with Fang. "Alright, alright," Fang smiled. "Let's just go out, yeah? But then you do your homework."

"Yes, mom."

XXXXXXXX

Serah and Lightning sat peacefully at the dining room table. They hadn't had a dinner with just the two of them for a while and Lightning was taking it in as much as she possibly could. It was rare now that Serah was married.

"How's school?" Lightning inquired as she rolled some noodles onto her fork.

"It's fine. I'm at the top of my class."

"As always," Lightning did a half smile. She was glad her sister wanted to go into teaching and not follow what Lightning did. "I'm proud of you, Serah."

"I know you are," Serah giggled. "So… about earlier."

Lightning sighed. "What about it?"

Serah bit her lip. "You need to go talk to her, Light. You and her can at least be friends… right? Vanille texted me earlier and said the same thing I'm telling you now. I might not like Fang much right now, but she's still family to us…"

"I know she is…"

"And all families have their arguments."

"I know they do."

"Will you go talk to her? Calm and peaceful-like? I mean, I know that's hard for you and all..." Serah asked with a somewhat broken voice. Lightning knew that voice.

She wasn't stupid. Serah didn't want a rift to be put between herself and Vanille, and with the two ex's fighting (who also happened to be their sisters), they know it would be inevitable. She knew that Serah's relationship would end with Vanille if Lightning didn't try to make peace.

"Fine."

"Yay!" Serah almost knocked the table over in her excitement. "Oh, crap! Sorry."

Lightning just shook her head. "It's okay, Serah. I'll go talk to Fang tonight, okay?"

Serah smiled in victory. "Good. Now let's eat up so you can grow a set and get over there."

Lightning was going to regret it. She knew that much already. "What am I even going to say to her?"

Serah dropped her fork on her plate and put her hands across her heart. "Oh, Fang! I love you oh so much and I miss you. I need you to stay here with me forever!"

Lightning glared at her sister, though finding some amusement in Serah's antics. She knew Serah was trying to make her feel better. "I'm being serious, Serah."

"And who says I wasn't serious?"

"You just got done telling me that I need to move on and now you're doing this."

Serah just laughed. "Okay, look. Just tell her you're sorry for everything and you want to start over from the beginning. As friends. Nothing more."

"But we tried that before… Look what happened."

"Well you didn't have much self control, neither did she. Now… you won't have much of a choice. You can lose her forever, or work your way up to being with her again."

"You're contradicting yourself. You just told me earlier you wanted me to move on."

"Well… I know what I told you. But I know what you're really feeling, you're my sister. If you follow what I said, you'll be sad… I don't want you to be. The two of you just have some issues to work out. Then it'll be fine and we can all be a family again…" Serah bit her lip. "I barely hang out with Vanille anymore because the topic of you two always comes up and we both end up fighting. I'm tired of it and I miss my best friend… I know you do too."

Serah was right. Fang was her best friend. Even at the beginning before Lightning was in SWAT. Sure, Fang harassed Lightning every moment she got, but deep down Lightning liked it. "I'm going to go talk to her."

"And I want to know how it goes tomorrow."

"I bet you do…"

XXXXXXXX

She wasn't sure exactly what she was doing. Especially since it was already nearing midnight. A heavy sigh left her lungs as she stepped up to the front door. Was anybody even still awake? She knew Fang left the next day, but she didn't know what time her train departed. She'd feel horrible if Fang was already asleep.

If she didn't do it tonight though... it would never get done, she had to let Fang go. She had to make sure that Fang knew that too.

Lightning lifted her hand to knock on the door, but she hesitated. Instead of tapping her knuckles on the wood she simply pressed her palm against it. What was she doing? She thought for a moment that she should just turn around, that's when she saw the curtain move.

She was spotted.

Two thoughts crossed her mind at that point, run, or stay. Before she had a chance to make her decision, it was made for her. The door opened, revealing a rather confused looking Fang. "What are you doing here?"

"I was uh..." Lightning took a step back. She wanted to see Fang once more. But to let Serah know, or to even admit it to Fang was something she had trouble with.

Fang folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the door frame. "You obviously came here for a reason. Come on... out with it."

"I just uh... wanted to come by... and say goodbye." Lightning diverted her gaze to the ground. What was she thinking?

Fang looked her ex over before backing away from the doorway. "Vanille's asleep, keep your voice down."

"I'm sorry I came over so late." The detective's voice was soft, just as Fang had instructed. She watched the taller woman close and lock the front door before walking toward the kitchen. Lightning was right behind her.

"It's fine, couldn't sleep much anyway. anxious to get tomorrow over with."

Lightning just tossed her a friendly smile before sitting at the table. She couldn't just beg Fang to stay. Begging really wasn't in her. Even though that's what she really wanted. "Why are you anxious about it?"

"The move, what else? I've never ran a store before ya know." Fang sat across from Lightning at the table.

"Yea, true." Lightning looked down at her hands. She wasn't exactly sure how to say what she really wanted to say.

"So... cut the small talk Light. I know that's not why you're here Light. Be honest with me."

"I already told you, I wanted to say goodbye."

Fang sighed. "We both know this ain't goodbye Light."

"It feels like it though." She couldn't lift her gaze from her hands. Looking at the woman she was still in love with was too hard.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Vanille... it's not permanent." When she didn't receive a response she continued. "Light, look at me." Lightning slowly lifted her head, causing their eyes to lock for the first time since she arrived. "We'll stay in touch."

Lightning laughed dryly "You know, Serah made me come over here... she kept telling me I should talk to you. I even prepared a speech in my head and everything, but I'll tell you I can't remember a single word of it."

"I'm kinda happy you decided to listen to her Light." Fang smiled softly across the table. "I was talking to Vanille and she actually suggested the same thing. That I see ya one more time."

"Guess everybody wins huh?"

"I guess they do..." She fell silent for a moment before continuing. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"I know you are. That's why I came over tonight. What ever happened to us Fang?"

Fang chuckled softly. "We both know what happened Light."

Lightning diverted her gaze again. She did know what happened. She knew that it was her fault that Fang walked away. "Yea... we do." She wanted to say more on the subject, but it was safer to watch her wording on everything. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Fang, especially the day before she left. Sure, Fang said they'd stay in touch, but she didn't want to push that.

"Look..." the detective started off slowly. "I'm sorry for everything Fang... everything I've done. I know it's mostly my fault. With the things I'd said and the way I'd treated you." Fang leaned back in her chair, arms folded over her chest, waiting for Lightning to continue. "There were things we both said that never should have been said Fang."

"I thought we already said them when ya came into my office the other day?"

"I meant in the past Fang. When we were together. It all ended pretty badly."

"Yea..."

Before Fang could continue though, Lightning beat her to it. "And I know it was my fault. I never should have said those things about your job. Or assumed that you were any less of a person because of the job you have. I mean... obviously you love it, you're willing to move for it." Lightning bit her lip quickly when she heard the bitterness in her own voice at her last statement.

"It's the best for both of us anyway Light."

"You running away from everything is best for us both?"

"No, I'm not running away, I'm puttin some distance in a volitile situation and you know it's true... we were toxic together Light."

"We might have been toxic, but we were in love. You made me feel like a person and now..."

"Now you're just as lost as I am." Fang stood up and made her way to the counter. "I might as well start some coffee. Gotta feelin we're gonna be here for a while."

"I'll just go. I know you have to be up early."

"Train doesn't leave til 2... besides, I'll just sleep on it." Fang turned to look at her ex, suddenly feeling a little insecure. "Unless you really had to go..."

"No." A soft smile graced Lightning's lips. "I'm off tomorrow."

"So... coffee it is then?"

"Yea, coffee it is." The smile on Lightning's face grew a little bit. It was odd, to her. Smiling. In all honesty, it felt alien. It was something she hadn't done in months. Nothing that was a real smile anyway.

A comfortable silence fell between the pair. Fang busied herself with coffee while Lightning simply watched her. It wasn't domestic, not in Lightning's eyes anyway... it was friendly. And comfortable. "How's your job been?"

The question caught Lightning a bit off guard. She wasn't exactly expecting the make small talk. It definitely helped to defuse the entire situation. "It's been kind of slow actually. Which is a good thing though." The detective looked up at her ex and saw a small smile peek out of the corner of her lips. "What about you... are you..." she paused to regain her thoughts before asking something she didn't really want to, "looking forward to your promotion?"

Honestly, Lightning didn't want to ask. She didn't want to know. But it was polite and Lightning was always taught to be polite, not that she always was though. Fang shook her head. "I am... but I know ya don't really care. I know you Lightning, better than ya know yourself sometimes."

A light pink hue covered Lightning's cheeks. What Fang had said was something Serah told her all the time. She hated being 'known' by more people than just herself. Nobody should know her better than she knows herself, but apparently they did. "What did you mean when you said I'm just as lost as you are?"

"What do you think it means?"

"I know what I want it to mean Fang, but what I want it to mean and what you actually meant are two different things I'm sure."

Fang placed two cups of coffee on the table before getting the creamer out of the fridge. "Here." Lightning smiled as she accepted it. She was a little surprised that Fang still remembered how she liked her coffee. "What I meant Light... was that... deep down, you don't want me to leave, just like I don't want to leave. But you know that in the end this is all for the best."

"I guess you're right."

"Listen..." Fang reached across the table to take Lightning's hand gently. It wasn't anything romantic, but more of a friendly, comforting gesture. "We need this distance apart... this time apart ya know? It'll give us both a chance to really clear our heads and figure out what we want and where we're goin in life."

The only thing Lightning was certain of, was that she was still in love with Fang. For the longest time, Fang was the only constant. There were times when Serah went days and even weeks without so much as a visit. But Fang was always there. Ever since they had first become friends, she was there. And now... now she was leaving. Lightning felt as if a hole was being ripped right out of her heart.

As far as where she was going with her life... she thought things were looking up when she received her instructor position. But once it was ripped out from under her, everything felt lost. It was a domino effect that left her rebuilding from the ground up. She knew Fang was right, it was hard to admit it though because she didn't want her to be right. Having the time apart would help both of them to clear their heads. They needed it. Some time apart. Lightning trusted Fang when she said that they'd keep in touch. She just knew she had to be patient... that everything would come in due time.

"What are you hoping comes from this?" Lightning was blunt with her question. She knew that she was hoping Fang would come back. She was hoping that she be able to overcome her own demons and become a better person.

"Honestly, I'm hopin everything works out in the end." There was a double meaning to Fang's words. Something that neither of them pointed out, but both of them knew. Yes, Fang wanted everything with her promotion is as she expected. She was also hoping that with time things with Lightning would work themselves out. She was still in love with Lightning, but it was dangerous for both of them emotionally to try to rekindle their relationship so soon.

"This could be a way for us to truly start over... as friends."

"Right."

"It'll be nice. Because Fang... to tell you the truth, I miss you as my friend."

"I miss you too Light."

Neither of them wanted the night to end. But as Lightning glanced at the clock she realized that it had to end eventually. She hadn't realized that it was already pushing 2 in the morning. She'd been talking with Fang for over two hours now. "I should really get going so you can go to bed. You're spending all day on a train aren't you?"

Reluctantly Fang stood up to walk Lightning to the door. She didn't want her ex to leave either. It was nice to be able to have a decent conversation with Lightning. Just like old times. Old times that Fang didn't want to part with, but knew she had to. They would always be locked away in her memories. Whether she was gone for a few weeks, months, or even years, the memory of her last night in Bohdum would always be fresh in her mind.

"Yea, it's like 7 hours or somethin like that. I don't even know how long it is." Fang chuckled, drawing a small laugh out of Lightning.

"Well..." Lightning stopped at the door to look up into Fang's eyes. "I guess this is good bye."

"Nah... good byes are forever in my eyes." Fang cautiously stepped forward to wrap her arms around Lightning's waist.

All of the breath left Lightning's lungs at the very familiar, and very missed feeling of Fang's warm body pressed against her own. She felt herself melt into the touch... get lost in it even. She savored every last moment of it.

Little did she know though, Fang felt the same. She didn't want to let Lightning go, but she knew she had to. "How bout I promise to call ya when I get there."

"That sounds great." Lightning was first to pull away from the embrace. "Please be safe."

"Always am."

Lightning placed her hand on Fang's shoulder before she smiled up at her. "Good night Fang."

"See ya Light." She stepped back into the house once Lightning was out of sight and closed the door. It was like she was closing the door on a now finished chapter of her life. In a few short hours, she'd be reopening the door, only to start a brand new chapter.

**XXXXXXXX**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it. I decided to do a middle ending because honestly? It was easier. I tried to write a sad and happy ending but NOTHING came out. If Haruka manages to help out a little (more than usual), then there will be a few more updates. But until then, the story is complete. If I do a sequel, it'll be a short one (seeing as how I'm horrible at updating). And again, if anyone has a PS3, add me. Username is in my profile.**

**Also, thank you so much for the support and reviews and alerts. I really appreciate it. You have no idea.**

**Toodles.**


End file.
